203 - Werner Berg* (Elberfeld 1904 - 1981 St. Veit im Jauntal)

Werner Berg* (Elberfeld 1904 - 1981 St. Veit im Jauntal) Vierberger woodcut/paper 41 x 54,7 cm inscribed Vierberger depicted in Biller, catalogue raisonné Werner Berg, woodcuts, 2001, p. 395, nr. 283 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE °€ 3600 - 5000 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE °€ 3600 Hans Werner Berg was born on April 11, 1904, in Elberfeld—now part of Wuppertal. After completing a commercial apprenticeship, he studied political science in Vienna, earning his doctorate in 1927. He subsequently decided against an academic career and began studying painting under Karl Sterrer at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. From 1928 to 1931, he continued his training at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in Karl Caspar’s master class. In 1930, Berg acquired the remote Rutarhof farm in the bilingual region of southern Carinthia, situated above the Drava River near Bleiburg/Pliberk. From 1931 onwards, he lived and worked there with his family as both a farmer and an artist. This close integration of daily life and artistic practice became a defining feature of his work; Berg drew his subjects from the rural working world, portraits of the Slovene-speaking population, religious festivals, the changing seasons, animals, and the landscape of Lower Carinthia. He observed his adopted home with a perspective that combined the detachment of an outsider with the deep empathy of someone intimately connected to the place. Stylistically, Berg began with Expressionism but developed a distinctive, rigorously composed visual language. Bold colors, focused linework, and a deliberate emphasis on flatness characterize his oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and—most notably—his woodcuts. In doing so, he distilled everyday scenes into images of profound existential and symbolic intensity. Encouragement from Emil Nolde reinforced his commitment to Expressionism; however, during the Nazi era, his art was branded as "degenerate," severely limiting his public visibility for a time. After 1945, Berg gained increasing recognition. He became a member of the Vienna Art Club in 1947, participated in the Venice Biennale, and exhibited his work in cities including Vienna, Munich, Paris, Ljubljana, and Cairo. The Werner Berg Gallery opened in Bleiburg in 1968; at his request, it was not designated as a museum, and he furnished it with a representative selection of his work. Following his death, the institution was transferred to a foundation and today constitutes the Werner Berg Museum. Werner Berg died on September 7, 1981, in his studio at the Rutarhof. 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.