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Raphael Kirchner (5 May 1875 – 2 August 1917) was an Austrian artist, principally a
Raphael Kirchner produced over a thousand published paintings and drawings in his lifetime, mostly in the form of picture postcards. His orientalist "
File:Portfolio with plates from "De la Brune à la Blonde" and other designs by Raphael Kirchner MET DP861939.jpg, "De la Brune à la Blonde," poster, 1914
File:Raphael Kirchner - La Mer Fleurie.jpg, ''La Mer Fleurie,'' postcard design, c. 1915
File:Raphael Kirchner unbekannter Titel.jpg, ''Le Masque impassible,'' date unknown
File:Kirchner - favorite.jpg, ''Favorite,'' date unknown
File:Kirchner - marionettes-2.jpg, ''Marionettes,'' date unknown
File:Kirchner - the-embrace.jpg, ''The Embrace''
File:Kirchner - ivory-sculpture.jpg, Ivory-sculpture, no title, date unknown
portrait painter
Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...
and illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
best known for Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
and early pin-up
A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...
work, especially in picture postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare.
In some places, one can send a postcard fo ...
format. His work served as an early inspiration to Peruvian painter Alberto Vargas
Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez (9 February 1896 – 30 December 1982) was a Peruvian-American painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists, and as one of the pioneers of airbrush art. Numerous ...
, who had a career in the United States for the film and men's magazine industry.
Early life
Kirchner was born in 1875 inVienna, Austria
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. ...
, and attended 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.
...
. He moved to 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 ...
in the year 1900, making illustrations for such magazines as '' La Vie Parisienne''.
In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Kirchner moved to the United States. He lived in New York City until his death in 1917.
Work
Raphael Kirchner produced over a thousand published paintings and drawings in his lifetime, mostly in the form of picture postcards. His orientalist "Geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...
" series was among his most popular, with over 40,000 cards sold. The series is a notable example of the cross-influence between Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
in the West and Japanese art of the Meiji and Taishō periods. Kirchner's often mildly erotic paintings of feminine beauty, in convenient postcard and magazine page form, were among the early pin-up
A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...
s favored by European and American soldiers in World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Peruvian painter Alberto Vargas
Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez (9 February 1896 – 30 December 1982) was a Peruvian-American painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists, and as one of the pioneers of airbrush art. Numerous ...
cited Kirchner as an influence, and was noted for his own paintings of beautiful women in a related style. He painted for movie posters and later illustrations in men's magazines.
Kirchner's lasting influence on the pin-up genre was still recognized in the World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
pin-up heyday period. Kirchner also produced a small number of sculptures, some of which were photographed for postcards as well. In New York, he also produced costume designs for musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
productions.
See also
*List of Orientalist artists
This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalism#Orientalist art, Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subj ...
*Orientalism
In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
References
Links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchner, Raphael 1875 births 1917 deaths Postcard artists 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists 20th-century Austrian painters Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Art Nouveau painters Art Nouveau illustrators Artists from Vienna Austrian male painters Austrian erotic artists Austrian illustrators Austrian emigrants to France Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Austrian Orientalist painters Expatriates from Austria-Hungary in France 20th-century Austrian male artists