Franz Sedlacek (21 January 1891 – 1945) was an Austrian painter who belonged to the tradition known as "

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, who ...

" ("neue Sachlichkeit"), an artistic movement similar to

Magical Realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

. At the end of the Second World War he "disappeared" as a soldier of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

near

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Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He was declared missing on February 1, 1945 and pronounced dead in 1972.

Biography

Franz Sedlacek was born in Breslau on 21 January 1891, and moved with his family to

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

in 1897. In 1909 he graduated from the Royal High School at the Fadingerstraße. A year later, he moved to Vienna and studied architecture and chemistry. After serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he completed his studies and in 1921 began working at the Technical Museum of Vienna. In 1923, Sedlacek married Maria Albrecht. The couple raised two daughters. Sedlacek joined the Wehrmacht in 1939, fighting in Russia, Norway and Poland. He went missing during the battle for the

Toruń Fortress Toruń Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Toruń, german: Festung Thorn) is a historic fortress located in Toruń, Poland, one of the largest Fortification, fortresses in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It was built in 1872–1894 by the Kingdom ...

Work

In 1913, Sedlacek founded an artistic association in Linz with , and . Sedlacek began as a graphic artist, and later turned to oil painting. In 1925 he produced a number of watercolours for

Claire Annabel Caroline Grant Duff Claire Annabel Caroline Grant Duff, Mrs Jackson (25 December 1870 – 12 January 1944) was a poet, writer and high society hostess. She published her memoir ''A Victorian Childhood'' in 1932 with Methuen Publishing. The eldest daughter of Si ...

's Book ''The Unicorn''.Galerie im Kinsky, Vienna 2010 In 1927, Sedlacek joined the

Viennese Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

, an association of artists that was founded by

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...

and others in 1897. In 1930, Sedlacek's work was included in an exhibition of Austrian art at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York. He was subsequently awarded the Austrian State Prize for painting thrice: in 1933, 1935 and 1937. A collection of his works is on exhibition at the

Leopold Museum The Leopold Museum, housed in the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria, is home to one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstl. It contains the wo ...

in the Museumsquartier in

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Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, including the 1931 painting, "Lied in der Dämmerung" ("Song in the Twilight"), as well as in the

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

Museum. Also "Sturm" (Storm) 1932 in the Belvedere Museum Vienna. Franz Sedlacek Der Chemiker.jpg, "The Chemist"
(11932, self-portrait) Franz Sedlacek - Mountain Landscape with Automobile.jpg, "Mountain Landscape with Automobile" (1931) Franz Sedlacek - Lied in der Dämmerung 1931.jpg, "Song in the Twilight" (1931) Franz Sedlacek - Evening landscape (1933) - Albertina museum.jpg, "Evening Landscape" (1933) Franz Sedlacek - Bibliothek.jpg, "The Library" (before 1939) Franz Sedlacek - Blumen und Insekte.jpg, "Flowers and Insects" (before 1939)

References

External links

Biography
@ the Franz Sedlacek website
Entry
with the

Aeiou Encyclopedia Austria-Forum is a freely accessible online collection of reference works in both German language, German and English language, English about Austria-related topics. Background The predecessor of Austria-Forum, the AEIOU project was launched in ...

Biography, Literature and Works by Franz Sedlacek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedlacek, Franz 1891 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male painters Austrian people of Czech descent Artists from Wrocław Artists from the Province of Silesia Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I German Army personnel killed in World War II Missing in action of World War II German Army officers of World War II 20th-century Austrian male artists