34 - Maximilian Kurzweil (Bzenec 1867 - 1916 Vienna)

Maximilian Kurzweil (Bzenec 1867 - 1916 Vienna) Portrait of a lady oil/wood 47 x 38 cm verso expertise SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 1800 - 2600 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 1800 Maximilian Kurzweil was an Austrian artist and a key figure of the Vienna Secession (Jugendstil). Born in Moravia to a factory owner, he moved with his family to Vienna in 1879; there, he attended secondary school and subsequently studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1886 to 1895. His teachers included Christian Griepenkerl, Leopold Carl Müller, and Casimir Pochwalski. In 1891, Kurzweil decided to spend time in France, where he met and married his wife. He became a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus in 1895, received the Small Gold State Medal in 1896, and was a founding member of the Vienna Secession in 1897, remaining a member until 1903. In this milieu, he was connected with the leading figures of Viennese Modernism, including Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, and Josef Hoffmann. Together, they shaped the artistic climate around 1900, a period in which painting, graphic art, architecture, and the decorative arts merged into a comprehensive stylistic ideal. While Kurzweil’s early work is rooted in the Secession style, the influence of Edvard Munch and Ferdinand Hodler led him to develop an increasingly Symbolist visual language imbued with a sense of melancholy. His portraits and figure paintings are characterized by sensitive observation, a restrained color palette, and an atmosphere of tension—often with an introspective quality. His body of work thus stands at the threshold between Secessionism, Symbolism, and early Expressionism. Graphic art also played a significant role alongside painting; the contemporary appreciation for printmaking techniques such as the woodcut was integral to the artistic philosophy of the Secession and its wider circle. From 1909 onwards, Kurzweil taught drawing and painting at the Art School for Women and Girls. Emil Orlik also deserves mention in this context; as a painter, printmaker, and teacher, he was a key intermediary between Viennese Modernism, international graphic art, and innovations in art education. During the First World War, Kurzweil served for a time as a war artist. In 1916, the artist committed suicide together with one of his students. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.