FRITZ MARTINZ - Retrospective 1949 - 2001

What's it about?

The Austrian artist Fritz Martinz (1924-2002) was a central figure of Viennese Realism and, alongside Alfred Hrdlicka, Rudolf Schönwald, and Georg Eisler, belonged to the group of committed socially critical realists. Due to his preference for drawing and painting, he enrolled in the Graz School of Arts and Crafts in 1939. In 1943, his education was interrupted by his conscription into military service. After years of hardship during the war, he turned to figurative painting after 1945 and went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1947. In 1960, Martinz presented his work to the public.Having grown up in the countryside, the artist developed an early close connection to nature and wildlife. The horse in particular - a motif present in art for millennia - plays a central role in Martinz's works, alongside the human figure.Through his intense artistic and social experiences, he...