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Maria Egner

Radkersburg, Lower Austria, 1850 - 1940, Maria Anzbach, Lower Austria

BiographyLike her colleague Tina Blau, Egner is usually considered only as a member of Schindler's circle of "mood Impressionists." Unlike Blau, however, Egner;s search for an independent style led her ultimoately to break from Schindler's domineering influence and to seek artistic solutions on her own. Egner began her studies in Graz in 1865 and then, in order to master oil technique, moved to Düsseldorf, at that time the leading center for German landscape painting. In 1881 she came to Vienna, where her conservative style was transformed by her contact with Pettenkofen and Schindler. Her subjects--intimate landscapes and flowers--now reflected Schindler's emphasis on atmospheric effects and the interplay of light and shadow in natural settings. Her format, originally monumental, now became smaller and her themes simpler, as she concentrated more instensely on the expressive values of color. In 1888, Egner traveled to London, where the English artist Robert Allen introduced her to watercolor, a technique discouraged by Schindler. As a means of asserting her independence from her former mentor, Egner now adopted the watercolor method with enthusiasm and skill. Some of her best late works were watercolors of gardens and, most especially, delicate renderings of flowers. Living until she was ninety, Egner painted continuously even when nearly blind. In 1979, the Neue Galerie in Graz gave the first retrospective exhibition of her work.

Erika Esau, Pre-Modern Art of Vienna 1848-1898, Edith C. Blum Instutute of Bard College, 1987.

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