Ludwig Michalek - Selbstportraet - Radierung - 1899 Detail

Ludwig Michalek (13 April 1859 – 24 September 1942) was an Austrian portrait painter, graphic artist and copper engraver.

Life and work

Michalek was born on 13 April 1859 in Temeswar,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. His father was a railroad engineer. In 1873, after graduating from the

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, he became a student at 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 his primary instructors were August Eisenmenger,

Christian Griepenkerl Christian Griepenkerl (17 March 1839 – 22 March 1916) was a German painter and professor, best known for rejecting Adolf Hitler's application to train at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Biography Griepenkerl was born to one of Oldenburg (cit ...

and

Carl Wurzinger Carl Wurzinger (1 June 1817, Vienna - 16 March 1883, Vienna) was an Austrian history painter and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. Life and work His father was the property caretaker, caretaker for an estate. In 1832, at the age ...

. This was followed, in 1876, by studies with the graphic artist, Louis Jacoby. Numerous study trips took him to Italy, France, the Low Countries and Germany. He married the pianist, Lili Bailetti, in 1883. They had two daughters. From 1884 to 1887, he worked as an assistant at the Vienna Academy; in the classes for "Drawing from Life". He received an "honorable mention" at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

in 1888, and a 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 ...

in 1896. The following year, he was one of the founders of the

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

classes at the new where, after 1898, he also taught the classes for nude drawing and nature studies. In 1909, the Ministry of Labor appointed him a Professor at the Higher Federal Institution for Graphic Education and Research. He held that position until 1920, but also gave secondary courses in etching at the "Frauenkunstschule" (Women's Art School), a division of the Academy. He was a long-time member of the

Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna's 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betwee ...

and, in 1936, was awarded their Silver Jubilee Medal. He is best remembered for several series of etchings and engravings; depicting composers, poets, scenery, technical subjects, and various things relating to the Austrian Alpine railways. He also made reproductions of the old masters, as well as portraits of contemporary notables, rendered in

pastels A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

. He died on 24 September 1942,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, aged 83. Two months after his death, his estate was put up for auction at the

Dorotheum The Dorotheum () is one of the world's oldest auction houses and is the largest auction house of art items in Continental Europe. Established by Emperor Joseph I in 1707, it has its headquarters in Vienna on the Dorotheergasse and branches in ...

. Online @

ANNO Anno may refer to: People *Anno of Saint Gall (died 954), Anti-Abbot of St. Gall * Anno II (Archbishop of Cologne) ( 1010–1075), Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 to 1075 * Anno (surname) * Anno Birkin (1980–2001), English musician *Hideaki Ann ...

In 1943, a street in Vienna's

Ottakring Ottakring () is the 16th Districts of Vienna, District in the city of Vienna, Austria (). It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing (Vienna), Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with m ...

district was named after him.

References

External links

*
More works by Michalek
@ ArtNet
Michalek's portraits of German composers
@ AKG Images. {{DEFAULTSORT:Michalek, Ludwig 1859 births 1942 deaths 19th-century Austrian painters 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian portrait painters 19th-century Austrian engravers 20th-century Austrian engravers Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Artists from Timișoara Painters from Austria-Hungary

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links