Karl Plattner (13 February 1919 – 8 December 1986) was an Italian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography

Plattner was born on 13 February 1919 in

Mals Mals (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of Bolzano, on the border with Switzerland and Austria. History Coat-of-arms The emblem is party per fess: the upper of gules a ...

as one of ten children. After he left school, he apprenticed as a painter, first in Mals and later in

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

. There, he became acquainted with Sebastian Fasal, Professor of the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

, where he studied

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

painting. During Second World War he was a soldier in the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

and was put into an American prisoner-of-war camp by

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

. After his captivity he continue his studies in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. At this time, he received the first public contracts in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

for fresco paintings. In 1952 he and his wife moved to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and exhibited his works in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He also received important contracts in Brazil. In 1956 he became acquainted with

Clemens Holzmeister Clemens Holzmeister (27 March 1886 – 12 June 1983) was a prominent Austrian architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 pro ...

. With him he realized the artistic representation of the box vestibule in the new Great Festival Hall of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. In 1961 he moved to

Tourrettes-sur-Loup Tourrettes-sur-Loup (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It has been called Tourrettes-sur-Loup ever since the early twentieth century although prior to that it ...

and

Cipières Cipières (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Cipieres is about 50 minutes drive from the French Riviera, and is an unspoilt medieval village of around 400 inhabitants. There are two restaurants, a piz ...

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. From 1963 to 1978 he lived in Milan. He died on 8 December 1986 in Milan.

Works

* 1951 – ''Pietà'' * 1954 – Big mural in the conference hall of the South Tyrolean

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

in Bolzano * 1965 – ''Nächtliches Zwiegespräch'' * 1967 – ''Vietnam'' * 1971 – ''Fra due finestre''

External links

Silvia Höller: Karl Plattner (1919-1986) (German)

Kunst im Südtiroler Landtag (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plattner, Karl 1919 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni People from Mals Germanophone Italian people 20th-century Italian male artists