Adalbert Franz Seligmann (2 April 1862,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

13 December 1945, Vienna) was an Austrian painter and art critic. He signed his criticism with the name "Plein-Air", in reference to a style of landscape painting known as '' En plein air''.

Biography

His father was the Viennese medical historian,

Romeo Seligmann Abraham Romeo Seligmann better known as Franz Romeo Seligmann (born 30 June 1808 in Nikolsburg, today Mikulov, in Moravia; died 15 September 1892 in Vienna), was an Austrian doctor and medical historian. Life The son of doctor Isaak Seligman ...

so, from his youth, he was exposed to the intellectual circles of Austria. From 1880 to 1884, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, under Christian Griepenkerl, after which he transferred to the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

. This was followed by study trips to France, Italy and Turkey. In 1896, he received a small gold medal at the

Große Berliner Kunstausstellung Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition), abbreviated GroBeKa or GBK, was an annual art exhibition that existed from 1893 to 1969 with intermittent breaks. In 1917 and 1918, during World War I, it was not held in Berlin bu ...

. He worked as a teacher of

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

at the Academy, as well as contributing art criticism and feuilletons to the '' Neue Freie Presse''. His interests also extended to the relationship between art and the works of writers, such as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

and Franz Grillparzer. From 1897, he was a Professor. One of his most notable achievements was as a co-founder of the "Frauenkunstschule" (women's art school), now known as the . Perhaps his best known painting depicts the famous surgeon, Theodor Billroth, giving a lecture in anatomy. He also provided illustrations for the novels of

Ludwig Ganghofer Ludwig Ganghofer (7 July 1855 – 24 July 1920) was a German writer who became famous for his homeland novels. Biography He was born in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, the son of forestry official August Ganghofer (1827–1900). His younger sister Ida (186 ...

. On an odd note, he possessed a skull fragment from

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, that he had inherited from his father; preserving it in a secret location from 1936 to 1945. His heirs donated the fragment to the Center for Beethoven Studies at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, California, in 1990. Despite his Jewish ancestry, as a practicing Catholic he survived the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime and the war without incident. Much of his personal legacy has been preserved at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus. In 1958, a street in Vienna's Liesing district was named after him. On the occasion of his 100th birthday in 1962, a major retrospective was held in the reading room at the Wienbibliothek.

Writings

* ''Kritische Studien von Plein-air.'', Vienna, 1904 * "Der sterbende Expressionismus", in: ''Neue Freie Presse'', Nr. 20281, 13. February 1921, pg.1–4
ANNO
. * ''

Leopold Carl Müller Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

. Ein Künstlerleben in Briefen, Bildern und Dokumenten'', Vienna, 1922

Sources

* Ch. Gruber/M. Haja, ''Seligmann Adalbert Franz'', in: ''Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon'', Vol. 12 (Lfg. 56, 2002), pgs. 152f
Online
. * Maximilian Kaiser (Ed.): ''Adalbert Franz Seligmann. Essays und Kritiken (1918–1933)'', Vienna 2015 * Maximilian Kaiser: ''Der Wiener Diskurs zur Avantgarde. Rekonstruktion und Analyse des Diskursnetzwerkes'', Dissertation,

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

, 2017.

External links

"How Beethoven’s Skull got to San Jose"
@ ''Digital Dying''
More works by Seligmann
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Seligmann, Adalbert 1862 births 1945 deaths Austrian painters Austrian art critics Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Painters from Vienna Painters from Austria-Hungary