Hans Fronius (12 September 1903 - 21 March 1988) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

painter and illustrator. He was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, which was then a territory of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now Bosnia and Hercegovina). His father was descended from an old, aristocratic

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

family ee_Fronius.html" ;"title="Fronius.html" ;"title="ee Fronius">ee Fronius">Fronius.html" ;"title="ee Fronius">ee Fronius As a young boy, he witnessed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, an event that would later form the subject of his book, ''Attentat in Sarajevo'' (English: Assassination in Sarajevo). After the First World War, Fronius's family moved to Graz in Austria. He studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

. From 1930 to 1960, he taught art and

projective geometry In mathematics, projective geometry is the study of geometric properties that are invariant with respect to projective transformations. This means that, compared to elementary Euclidean geometry, projective geometry has a different setting, ...

at a grammar school in

Fürstenfeld Fürstenfeld (; hu, Fölöstöm) is a town and a district in southeastern Austria. It is situated within the Austrian federal state of Styria, near the border of Hungary. According to the 2005 census, Fürstenfeld has 5,986 citizens within its c ...

, Styria. His leftist sympathies put his teaching position in jeopardy after the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'', and in 1943 he was drafted into the German army. The art historian

Otto Benesch Otto Benesch (29 June 1896 in Ebenfurth – 16 November 1964 in Vienna) was an Austrian art historian. He was taught by Max Dvořák and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. He is well known for his catalogue of Rembran ...

called Fronius "the most significant Austrian illustrator since

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born in Bohemia ...

." His work is considered an example of '

Expressive Expressivity, expressiveness, and expressive power may refer to: *Expressivity (genetics), variations in a phenotype among individuals carrying a particular genotype *Expressive loa, a type of loanword in phono-semantic matching *Expressive power ...

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

', with subjects that include portraits, street scenes, and literary interpretations. He was one of the first illustrators of the stories of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

, and contributed illustrations to works by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

and

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

."A Lodging for the Night. Translated by Alexander Lenet-Holenia." Vienna and Berlin. Paul Neff Verlag 1963, 13 Sketches He remained a prolific artist until his death at age 84 in 1988.

Decorations and awards

* 1966:

Grand Austrian State Prize for Visual Arts The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

* 1968: Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

* Grand Gold Decoration of the province of Lower Austria * Grand Gold Decoration of Styria * 1981: Gutenberg Prize of the City of Leipzig * 1983: Lovis Corinth Prize

References

External links

www.fronius-hans.com

Biography at the Lower Austrian Museum

(Includes samples) * http://www.austria-lexikon.at/af/Wissenssammlungen/Biographien/Fronius,_Hans 1903 births 1988 deaths Artists from Sarajevo 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male painters German Army personnel of World War II Transylvanian Saxon people Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 20th-century Austrian male artists {{Austria-painter-stub