Oskar Kokoschka

Austrian painter and playwright. Born in Pöchlarn on March 1, he studied at the Vienna School of Art and Design. Around 1908, he began to move away from the influence of Art Nouveau and towards Expressionism. In 1910, he joined the Sturm (Storm) circle in Berlin, and attracted attention for his unique psychological portraits, which earned him the nickname "The Diviner of the Paintbrush". He served in World War I and was wounded in the war. In 1919, he became a professor at the Dresden School of Fine Arts. From 1924 to 1931, he traveled to the Middle East, North Africa, and various parts of Europe, painting Baroque landscapes with a broad perspective. In 1937, his works were confiscated by the Nazis, and in 1938 he went into exile in London. There, he painted works based on Greek mythology to protest against the war and the Nazis. In addition to portraits, landscapes, and mythological scenes, he also painted fantastical pictures, and he also attempted a series of lithographs with ideological content, characterized by vivid color tones. In 1946, he was made an honorary citizen of Vienna, and from 1953 he lived in Montreux on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where he died on February 22, 1980.

[Taro Nomura]

As a playwright, he was one of the pioneers of Expressionist theater, and wrote "The Sphinx and the Dumb" and "The Murderer, the Hope of Women" in 1907. The former comically exposed the psychology of Viennese society in decline through the sexual conflict between men and women, while the latter exposed it tragically, causing a scandal when they were performed. Other works he wrote include "The Burning Thornbush" (1911), "Orpheus and Eurydice" (1918), both of which have the theme of Eros and Thanatos, and the epic play "Comenius" (completed in 1973), which he wrote in his later years.

[Doi Yoshio]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

オーストリアの画家、劇作家。3月1日ペヒラルンに生まれ、ウィーン工芸学校に学んだ。1908年ごろからアール・ヌーボーの影響を脱して表現主義の傾向に向かう。10年ベルリンの「シュトゥルム（嵐(あらし)）」のサークルに加わり、「絵筆の占師」の異名をとった独特の心理的肖像画によって注目される。第一次世界大戦に従軍して戦傷を受け、19年ドレスデン美術学校教授、24～31年中近東、北アフリカ、ヨーロッパ各地を旅行して、広大な視野をもつバロック的な風景画を描く。37年ナチスによって作品を没収され、38年ロンドンに亡命。同地でギリシア神話をモチーフとする作品を描いて、戦争とナチスへの抗議を行った。肖像、風景、神話のほかに幻想的な絵も描いているが、鮮やかな色彩の諧調(かいちょう)を特色とし、思想的な内容を盛った石版画の連作も試みている。46年ウィーン名誉市民となり、53年以降はスイスのレマン湖畔のモントルーに住み、80年2月22日同地に没した。

［野村太郎］

　劇作家としては表現主義演劇の先駆者の一人で、1907年執筆の『スフィンクスとでくの坊』『人殺し、女たちの希望』がある。前者は斜陽にたつウィーン社会の心理を男女間の性的葛藤(かっとう)劇によって喜劇的に、後者はそれを悲劇的に暴き、上演の際スキャンダルを巻き起こした。ほかにエロスとタナトスを主題にした『燃えるいばらの茂み』（1911）、『オルフォイスとエウリディケ』（1918）、晩年の叙事演劇『コメニウス』（1973完成）がある。

［土肥美夫］

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