Franz von Stuck | |
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 Self-Portrait (1923) | |
| Born | Franz Stuck 23 February 1863 |
| Died | 30 August 1928(1928-08-30) (aged 65) |
| Burial place | Munich Waldfriedhof |
| Known for | Painting, sculpting, drawing |
| Notable work | The Guardian of Paradise Wounded Amazon The Sin |
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Franz Ritter[a] von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), bornFranz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancientmythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim withThe Sin in 1892. In 1906, Stuck was awarded theOrder of Merit of the Bavarian Crown and was henceforth known as Ritter von Stuck.
Born atTettenweis near Passau,[1] Stuck displayed an affinity for drawing andcaricature from an early age. To begin his artistic education he relocated in 1878 to Munich, where he would settle for life. From 1881 to 1885 Stuck attended theMunich Academy.
He first became well known by cartoons forFliegende Blätter, and vignette designs for programmes and book decoration. In 1889 he exhibited his first paintings at theMunich Glass Palace, winning a gold medal forThe Guardian of Paradise.[2]
In 1892 Stuck co-founded theMunich Secession, and also executed his first sculpture,Athlete. The next year he won further acclaim with the critical and public success of what is now his best known work, the paintingThe Sin. Also during 1893, Stuck was awarded a gold medal for painting at theWorld's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and was appointed to a royal professorship. In 1895, he began teaching painting at the Munich Academy.
In 1897 Stuck married an American widow, Mary Lindpainter, and began work designing his own residence and studio, theVilla Stuck. His designs for the villa included everything from layout to interior decorations; for his furniture Stuck received another gold medal at the1900 Paris World Exposition.[3]
Having attained a high public profile by this time, Stuck was ennobled on December 9, 1905, and would receive further public honours from around Europe during the remainder of his life. He continued to be well respected among young artists as professor at the Munich Academy, even after his artistic styles became unfashionable. His students over the years includedPaul Klee,Hans Purrmann,Wassily Kandinsky,Alf Bayrle andJosef Albers.
He was a member of theInternational Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.[4] His work was also part of thesculpture event in theart competition at the1928 Summer Olympics.[5]
Franz von Stuck died on August 30, 1928, in Munich; his funeral address memorialized him as "the last prince of art of Munich's great days". He is buried in theMunich Waldfriedhof next to his wife Mary.
Stuck's subject matter was primarily from mythology, inspired by the work ofArnold Böcklin. Large forms dominate most of his paintings and indicate his proclivities for sculpture. His seductive female nudes are a prime example of popularSymbolist content. Stuck paid much attention to the frames for his paintings and generally designed them himself with such careful use of panels, gilt carving and inscriptions that the frames must be considered as an integral part of the overall piece.
Stuck'sKämpfende Amazone (Fighting Amazon), created in 1897, gracedHermann Göring'sCarinhall.[1]: 87f
By the time of his death, Stuck's importance as an artist in his own right had almost been forgotten: his art seemed old-fashioned and irrelevant to a generation that had enduredWorld War I. Stuck's reputation languished until the late 1960s when a renewed interest inArt Nouveau brought him to attention once more. In 1968 theVilla Stuck was opened to the public; it is now a museum.
InRobert Waite's 1977 bookThe Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler and numerous other sources it is noted that Franz Stuck was Hitler's favorite painter from childhood on.
Stuck's paintings were mentioned byCarl Jung, who wrote:
... Franz Stuck, whose snake-pictures bear significant titles likeVice,Sin, orLust (see plate x). The mixture of anxiety and lust is perfectly expressed in the sultry atmosphere of these pictures,...[6]
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