Joseph Probst (1911–1997) was a
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
painter who, in 1954, was one of the founder members of the ''
Iconomaques Iconomaques is the name of a group of Luxembourg artists who moved away from figurative art in order to promote abstract art. Created in 1954, the founding members were Will Dahlem, Henri Dillenbourg, François Gillen, Emile Kirscht, Joseph Prob ...
'' group of
abstract painters
Abstract may refer to:
* ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott
* Abstract of title a summary of the documents affecting title to parcel of land
* Abstract (law), a summary of a legal document
* Abstract (summary), in academic publishin ...
who opposed
figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...
.
Early life and education
Probst was born on 18 November 1911 in
Vianden in the north of Luxembourg. After a classical education in Luxembourg from 1924 to 1931, he spent a year studying art at the Ecole des Artisans in
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...
. He then went to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
where he attended the
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts before completing his studies at the
École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris.
Profil ...
in 1940.
[Guy Wagner, "Der stille Pionier: Zum Tode von Joseph Probst"](_blank)
. ''GuyWagner.net''. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
Career
After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Probst began to work as an artist under the influence of
Expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
. Initially he concentrated on portraits of nudes and, especially mother-and-child paintings, but moved ever closer to abstract art under the influence of
Michel Stoffel and
Lucien Wercollier
Lucien Wercollier (26 July 1908 – 24 April 2002) was a sculptor from Luxembourg.
While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are o ...
with whom he became one of the founding members of the ''Nouvelle Equipe''.
In 1954, together with his wife
Colette Würth and
Will Dahlem,
Henri Dillenburg,
François Gillen,
François Kinnen,
Emile Kirscht Emile Kirscht (1913–1994) was a Luxembourg painter who worked with acrylics and gouache on paper. In 1954, he was a co-founder of the Iconomaques group of abstract artists in Luxembourg.
Early life
Born on 11 June 1913, he was the sixth of sev ...
,
Wenzel Profant
Wenzel Profant (21 July 1913 – 20 January 1989) was a Luxembourgian sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1 ...
, Michel Stoffel und Lucien Wercollier, he became a co-founder of the ''Iconomaques'', a group bent on abstract art. Thereafter, Probst was recognized as one of Luxembourg's classic artists, not just through local interest in his works but through exhibits at the
Musée National d'Art Moderne in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and at the
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
. In 1960, he was awarded the Italian Marzotto Prize, indicating the extent of foreign interest in his work.
Style
His abstract style developed slowly from the early effects of his dark, subdued colours on form until his oils and guaches became ever more geometrical. From 1955, he moved even further into complex, interwoven forms with an extended spectrum of colour, making him a true proponent of lyrical abstract art. From 1972, he developed a new clarity of form which he also applied to stained-glass windows, murals and mosaics. The spiral took on special importance in his work, revealing his growing depth of interest in abstraction. Representing variations on a theme, his mosaics depict visual versions of musical compositions such as
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's ''
Winterreise
''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'' cycle.
"Picturing Winterreise: Artist Inventory"
, ''Schubert Society USA''. Retrieved 20 December 2010. In later life, Probst returned to figurative painting which can be seen in his 1994 and 1995 exhibits.
Bibliography
*Nic Weber, "Joseph Probst: 1911 Vianden, + 1997 Junglinster", ''Les Cahiers Luxembourgeois'', 1997, No 3, pp. 1–17.
*"Joseph Probst, peintures 1992–1995", exposition nr.230, Galerie Kutter, Luxembourg: Editions Edouard Kutter, 1995.
*"Joseph Probst, La Figure Humaine, pastels à l'huile", exposition nr.217, Galerie Kutter, Luxembourg: Editions Edouard Kutter, 1994.
*"Joseph Probst, dessins 1953–1990", exposition nr.190, Galerie Kutter, Luxembourg: Editions Edouard Kutter, 1990.
*"Joseph Probst, pastels à l'huile 1986–1998", exposition nr.177, Galerie Kutter, Luxembourg: Editions Edouard Kutter, 1989.
*Joseph Probst, "Exh. Österreich-Haus, Vienna, 10 Januar − 5 Februar 1984", Luxembourg, Impr. Saint-Paul, 1984.
*"Joseph Probst", texte par Joseph-Emile Muller, Luxembourg: Editions Edouard Kutter, 1979.
References
External links
Joseph Probst at P&T Luxembourg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Probst, Joseph
1911 births
1997 deaths
Abstract artists
20th-century Luxembourgian painters
20th-century male artists
Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg
Male painters