Oskar Kokoschka

Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist and poet of Czech origin, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.

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My Life by Oskar Kokoschka 1974 Thames & Hudson,London ISBN 0 500 01087 0

• I cannot say why I wanted to paint.The only answer is in the pictures themselves.
• My plays are not diadactic..they simply express my attitude to my world

Von der Natur der Gesichte-On the nature of visions lecture-Vienna 1912

• The awareness of imagery is part of living..a life which derives its power from within itself will focus on the perception ...of images
• Open your eyes at last and see...now I will open the book of the world for you,there are no words in it,just pictures

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• How do I define a work of art.It is not an asset...but a man's timid attempt to repeat the miracle that the simplest peasant girl is capable of..magically producing life out of nothing.
• I painted a double portrait of Alma Mahler and myself...these litho graphs will always remain..in contrast to all the contemporary art of the period.. a myth,a created symbol heavy with the meeting,begetting and parting.
• My painting (The Tempest or Bride of the Wind)shows me with the woman I once loved..in a shipwreck in mid-ocean.We look very strong and calm in our expressions.