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 San Luca and the Parisien Académie de peinture et de sculpture by the court-painter Peter Strudel, who became the ''Praefectus Academiae Nostrae''. In 1701 he was ennobled by Emperor Joseph I as '' Freiherr'' (Baron) of the Empire. With his death in 1714, the academy temporarily closed. Aktsaal der Wiener Akademie (1787, Martin Ferdinand Quadal)

Aktsaal der Wiener Akademie (1787, Martin Ferdinand Quadal)

On 20 January 1725, Emperor Charles VI appointed the Frenchman Jacob van Schuppen as Prefect and Director of the Academy, which was refounded as the ''k.k. Hofakademie der Maler, Bildhauer und Baukunst'' (Imperial and Royal Court Academy of painters, sculptors and architecture). Upon Charles's death in 1740, the academy at first declined, however during the rule of his daughter Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, a new statute reformed the academy in 1751. The prestige of the academy grew during the deanships of

Michelangelo Unterberger Michelangelo Unterberger, also Michael Angelo Unterberger and Michelangelo Unterperger (11 August 1695, Cavalese - 27 June 1758, Vienna) was a South Tyrolean painter in the Baroque style. Life He was the son of a forest warden. His first studie ...

and Paul Troger, and in 1767 the archduchesses

Maria Anna Maria Anna may refer to: * Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1738–1789), the second but eldest surviving daughter of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. * Maria Anna Adamberger (1752–1804), Vie ...

and Maria Carolina were made the first Honorary Members. In 1772, there were further reforms to the organisational structure. In 1776 the engraver

Jakob Matthias Schmutzer Jakob may refer to: People * Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name Other * Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP * Max Jakob Memorial Aw ...

founded a school of engraving. This Imperial-Royal Academy of Engraving in the Annagasse soon competed with the Court Academy. Chancellor

Wenzel Anton Kaunitz Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (german: Wenzel Anton Reichsfürst von Kaunitz-Rietberg, cz, Václav Antonín z Kounic a Rietbergu; 2 February 1711 – 27 June 1794) was an Austrian and Czech diplomat and statesman in the Habsburg monarc ...

integrated all existing art academies into the ''k.k. vereinigten Akademie der bildenden Künste'' (Imperial and Royal Unified Academy of Fine Arts). The word "vereinigten" (unified) was later dropped. In 1822 the art cabinet grew significantly with the bequest of honorary member Anton Franz de Paula Graf Lamberg-Sprinzenstein. His collection still forms the backbone of the art on display. Akademie der bildenden Kuenste DSC 2400w

Akademie der bildenden Kuenste DSC 2400w

In 1872 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria approved a statute making the academy the supreme government authority for the arts. A new building was constructed according to plans designed by the faculty Theophil Hansen in the course of the layout of the Ringstraße boulevard. On 3 April 1877, the present-day building on Schillerplatz in the

Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expa ...

district was inaugurated, the interior works, including ceiling frescos by Anselm Feuerbach, continued until 1892. In 1907 and 1908, young Adolf Hitler, who had come from Linz, was twice denied admission to the drawing class. He stayed in Vienna, subsisting on his orphan allowance, and tried unsuccessfully to continue his profession as an artist. Soon he had withdrawn into poverty and started selling amateur paintings, mostly watercolours, for meagre sustenance until he left Vienna for Munich in May 1913 (see also, Paintings by Adolf Hitler). Academy of Fine Arts - Vienna

During the Austrian '' Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany from 1938–1945, the academy, like other Austrian universities, was forced to purge its staff and student body of Jews and others that fell under the purview of the Nuremberg Racial Laws. After World War II, the academy was reconstituted in 1955 and its autonomy reconfirmed. Eduard von Josch, the secretary of the Academy, was dismissed for being a member of the NSDAP. The academy has had university status since 1998, but retained its original name. It is currently the only Austrian university without the word "university" in its name.

Structure

The academy is divided into the following institutes: * ''Institute for Fine Arts'', which houses thirteen departments: Abstract Painting; Art and Digital Media; Art and Photography; Arts and Research; Conceptual Art; Contextual Painting; Expanded Pictorial Space; Figurative Painting; Graphic Arts and Printmaking Techniques; Object Sculpture; Performative Art - Sculpture; Video and Video-installation; Textual Sculpture
* ''Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies'' (art theory, philosophy, history); * ''Institute for Conservation and Restoration''; * ''Institute for Natural Sciences and Technologies in Art''; * ''Institute for Secondary School Teaching Degrees'' (craft, design, textile arts); * ''Institute for Art and Architecture''. The Academy currently has about 900 students, almost a quarter of which are foreign students. Its faculty includes "stars" such as Peter Sloterdijk. Its library houses about 110,000 volumes and its "etching cabinet" (''Kupferstichkabinett'') has about 150,000 drawings and prints. The collection is one of the biggest in Austria, and is used for academic purposes, although portions are also open to the general public.

Notable alumni

* Maria Anwander * Alois Arnegger *

Joannis Avramidis Joannis Avramidis ( el, Iωάννης Aβραμίδης; born 23 September 1922 – 16 January 2016) was a contemporary Greek-Austrian sculptor. He was born in Batumi, Soviet Union to a family of Pontic Greeks. He began studying painting at t ...

William Berczy William von Moll Berczy (December 10, 1744 – February 5, 1813) was a German-born Upper Canada pioneer and painter. He is considered one of the co-founders of the Town of York, Upper Canada, now Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Biography Berczy was ...

Amoako Boafo Thomas Amoako Boafo, known as Amoako Boafo (born 10 May 1984), is a Ghanaian painter and visual artist. Early life and education Boafo was born and raised in Osu, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. He attended the Ghanatta College of Art and ...

Bernhard Cella Bernhard Cella (born 1969 in Salzburg) is an Austrian artist and curator. Academic career Cella studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna with Erich Wonder, the University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz with Herbert Lachmayer and the Hoch ...

Georg Decker Georg Decker (7 December 1818 – 13 February 1894) was an Austro-Hungarian portrait artist. Decker was born in Hungary to a German-speaking family, and grew up and made his career in Vienna, where he taught painting as well as working as a ...

Ludwig Deutsch Ludwig Deutsch (13 May 1855 – 9 April 1935) was a French painter of Austrian origin, who settled in Paris and became a noted Orientalist artist. Having studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts from 1872 to 1875, he moved to Paris in 1878, wh ...

Helmut Ditsch Helmut Ditsch (born July 6, 1962) is an Argentine painter. Ditsch's work focuses on extreme natural phenomena such as mountains, desert, ice, and water. Life He was born in Villa Ballester, in the province of Buenos Aires, to grandparents fr ...

Karl Duldig Karl (Karol) Duldig (29 December 1902 – 11 August 1986) was a Jewish modernist sculptor.

Slawa Duldig Slawa Duldig née Horowitz (28 November 1901– 16 August 1975) was an inventor, artist, interior designer, and teacher. In 1928, as Slawa Horowitz, she created a design for an improved compact folding umbrella, which she patented in 1929. Slawa w ...

George Dury Friedrich Julius Georg Dury (1817–1894) was a well-regarded Bavarian-American portrait artist who worked in both oil and pastel. He was born and educated in Würzburg, Bavaria, and Munich, where he began his career as an artist. In 1849, after ...

* Antonín Engel *

Joseph Fleck Joseph Amadeus Fleck (August 25, 1892 – April 5, 1977) was an American painter and muralist. His works include ''The Red Man of Oklahoma Sees the First Stage Coach'', in Hugo, Oklahoma, and ''First Mail Crossing Raton Pass'' and ''Unloading th ...

Richard Gach Richard Gach (31 October 1930 - 25 December 1991), born in Itzling (then the municipality Gnigl-Itzling, today district of Salzburg), died in Horn, was an Austrian architect, sketch artist, and watercolorist. He mainly designed schools for the cit ...

* Victor Gruen *

Sigurður Guðjónsson Sigurður Guðjónsson is an Icelandic contemporary artist. He works in the field of installation art and video art. Early life and career Guðjónsson was born in 1975 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He studied art in Reykjavík at the Iceland University ...

Helmuth Gräff Helmuth Gräff (born 12 April 1958 in Gars am Kamp) is an Austrian painter, poet and drawer. Gräffs painterly style is rooted on the one hand in the artistic heritage of Vincent van Gogh, and on the other hand he can also be regarded as a pre ...

Alice Berger Hammerschlag Alice Berger Hammerschlag née Berger (18 February 1917 – 14 July 1969) was an Austrian artist. She settled in Belfast and while creating abstract paintings also had a number of creative and administrative roles in Northern Ireland. Biography ...

Cecil van Haanen __NOTOC__ Cecil van Haanen (3 November 1844 – 24 September 1914) was a Vienna-born Dutch portrait and genre painter, whose significant work was centred at Venice. Van Haanen was the son to landscape painter Remigius Adrianus Haanen (1812� ...

* Gottfried Helnwein *

Wolfgang Hollegha Wolfgang Hollegha (born 4 March 1929) is an Austrian painter. Biography Hollegha was born in Klagenfurt, Kärnten/Carinthia. From 1947 to 1954 he studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna with Josef Dobrovský and Herbert Boeck ...

* Hans Hollein * Alfred Hrdlička * Cornelia James * Paja Jovanović *

Eszter Katalin Eszter Katalin (Budapest, 1991) is a Hungarian audiovisual artist. Her work focuses on questioning the relationship between socio-political conflicts and their subjective representation from an LGBTQ and feminist point of view. Eszter Katalin us ...

Gottfried Lindauer Gottfried Lindauer (5 January 1839 – 13 June 1926) was a Bohemian and New Zealand artist famous for his portraits, including many of Māori people. Czech life and Austrian school He was born Bohumír Lindauer in Plzeň (Pilsen), Western Bo ...

* Franz Xaver Messerschmidt *

Vera Nedkova Vera Nedkova ( bg, Вера Недкова) (16 November 1906 – 7 July 1996) was a Bulgarian modernist painter. A graduate of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, she is known as "the grande dame of Bulgarian painting." Born in Skopje to B ...

* Uroš Predić * Heinrich Rauchinger * Constantin Daniel Rosenthal *

Egon Schiele Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portr ...

Rudolph Michael Schindler Rudolph Michael Schindler (born Rudolf Michael Schlesinger; September 10, 1887 - August 22, 1953) was an Austrian-born American architect whose most important works were built in or near Los Angeles during the early to mid-twentieth century. ...

Othmar Schimkowitz Othmar Schimkowitz (2 October 1864 in Tárts, Komárom County – 24 April 1947 in Graz) was a Hungarian-born architectural sculptor who worked on the greatest landmarks of the Vienna Secession. Life Schimkowitz studied at the Academy of Fin ...

Frigyes Schulek Frigyes Schulek (19 November 1841 – 5 September 1919) was a Hungarian architect,

Theodor Sockl Theodor Benedikt Sockl (15 April 1815 – 25 December 1861) was an Austrian painter and photographer. Early life Stockl was born in Vienna on 15 April 1815, the son of the master cabinet-maker and inventor, Johann Gottlieb Sockl and Sophie, n� ...

Willi Soukop Willi Soukop (5 January 1907 – 8 February 1995) was a sculptor, member of the Royal Academy and early teacher of Elisabeth Frink. Soukop's work is prominently on display at Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learn ...

Hito Steyerl Hito Steyerl (born 1 January 1966) is a German filmmaker, moving image artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary.

Katrin Lea Tag Katrin Lea Tag (born 1972) is a German scenic and costume designer for drama and opera, whose works have appeared internationally. In 2020, she was named Scenic Designer of the Year by ''Opernwelt'', for productions such as Barrie Kosky's '' Salo ...

* Otto Wagner * Jacob Weidenmann * Erwin Wurm * Bruno Zach

Other students and professors

Karl Aigen Karl Josef Aigen (8 October 1684 – 22 October 1762) was a landscape painter, born at Olomouc. Life Aigen was born in Olomouc on 8 October 1685, the son of a goldsmith. He was a pupil of the Olomouc painter Dominik Maier. He lived in Vienna from ...

(1684–1762), student, director and professor *

Oz Almog Oz Almog is an Israeli and Austrian artist, born on 15 April 1956, in Kfar Saba, Israel. Biography Oz Almog was born to a family of Russian/Ukrainian pioneers (Avrutzki) and Romanian/Russian immigrants (Abramovich). After studying classical paint ...

, (born 1956) * Alois Arnegger (1879–1963) *

(1922–2016) * Peter Behrens (1868–1940) * Sabeth Buchmann (born 1962) *

Menci Clement Crnčić Menci Clement Crnčić (Bruck an der Mur, Austria, 3 April 1865 – Zagreb, 9 November 1930) was a Croatian painter, printmaker, teacher and museum director. He studied painting and drawing in Vienna and Munich, and trained in graphic arts in Vien ...

(1865–1930) * Konstantin Danil (1802–1873) *

Saeed Danosian Saeed Danosian (November 1, 1954, Tehran, Iran - December 21, 2008, Irvine, California) was a contemporary Iranian artist, scholar and philanthropist based in Orange County, California. He pursued a program in interior design at the Bel Art Acad ...

(1979–1985) *

Diedrich Diederichsen Diedrich Diederichsen (born August 15, 1957) is a German author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is an intellectual writer at the crossroads of the arts, politics, and popular culture, pop culture. Diedrich Diederichsen was born and gre ...

(born 1957) * Andrea Maria Dusl (born 1961) *

Thomas Ender Thomas Ender (3 November 1793, Vienna - 28 September 1875, Vienna) was an Austrian landscape painter and watercolorist. Life and work He was born to Johann Ender, a junk dealer, and was the twin brother of Johann Nepomuk Ender, a history pain ...

(1793–1875) *

Harun Farocki Harun Farocki (9 January 1944 – 30 July 2014) was a German filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film. Early life and education Farocki was born as Harun El Usman FaroqhiMargalit Fox (3 August 2014)''New York Times''. in Neutitschein, which is n ...

(1944–2014) * Anselm Feuerbach (1829–1880), professor (1873) * Emil Fuchs (1866–1929) * Ernst Fuchs (1930–2015) *

Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger (11 January 1805 – 29 October 1880) was a Viennese artist. Life Born in Vienna, Geiger wanted originally to follow the family tradition and become a sculptor, but drawing and painting were his natural element. ...

(1805–1880), professor * Richard Gerstl (1883–1908) *

Edwin Grienauer Edwin Grienauer (March 7, 1893 – August 21, 1964) was an Austrian sculptor and medalist. He was born and died in Vienna. Life Edwin Grienauer was the son of cellist Karl Grienauer and opera singer Helene Schott. His father migrated to ...

(1893–1964) * Gottfried Helnwein (born 1948) *

F. Scott Hess F. Scott Hess (born July 12, 1955) is an American painter and conceptual artist. He has described himself as a "reluctant realist" whose work is nevertheless grounded in Old Master craft and the representation of observed detail.Donald Kuspit"Sel ...

(born 1955) * Clemens Holzmeister (1886–1983) * Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000) * Li Hua (born 1980) *

Greta Kempton Martha Greta Kempton (March 22, 1901 – December 9, 1991) was the White House artist during the Harry S. Truman, Truman administration. Biography Kempton was born in Vienna and came to the United States in the 1920s. She studied at the Vi ...

, (1901–1991) *

Anton Lehmden Anton Lehmden (2 January 1929 – 7 August 2018) was an Austrian painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Lehmden was a co-founder, together with Ernst Fuchs, Maître Leherb (Helmut Leherb), Rudolf Hausner, Arik Brauer, Fritz Janschka and Wol ...

(1929–2018) *

Maximilian Liebenwein Maximilian Albert Josef Liebenwein (11 April 1869 – 17 July 1926) was an Austrian-German painter, graphic artist and book illustrator, in the Impressionist and Art Nouveau styles. He spent significant time in Vienna, Munich and Burghausen, A ...

(1869–1926) * Leopold Matzal (1890–1956) *

Franz Anton Maulbertsch Franz Anton Maulbertsch (7 June 1724 – 8 August 1796) was an Austrian painter and engraver, one of the most renowned exponents of Rococo painting in the German and Hungarian regions. Maulbertsch was born in Langenargen and studied in the Aca ...

(1724–1796) *

Ludwig Merwart Ludwig Merwart (1 September 1913 – 13 July 1979) was an influential Austrian painter and graphic artist. He is an important representative of Tachism and was a major force in graphic arts and prints, especially after World War II. His work be ...

(1913–1979) *

Joseph Mössmer Joseph Mössmer (20 May 1780 – 22 June 1845) was an Austrian painter and instructor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Born in Vienna, he began his artistic training in 1796 under Friedrich August Brand Friedrich August Brand (20 December 1 ...

(1780–1845) * Caspar Neher (1897–1962) *

Gustav Peichl Gustav Peichl (18 March 1928 – 17 November 2019) was an Austrian architect and caricaturist. Life He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna until 1953 and worked in the office of Roland Rainer. To pay for architectural school, he drew ca ...

(1928–2019) *

Johann Georg Platzer Johann Georg Platzer (1704–1761) was a prolific Austrian Rococo painter and draughtsman. Life and career Platzer was born in Eppan in the County of Tyrol, and came from a family of painters. He painted primarily historical and mythical scene ...

(1704–1761) *

Roland Rainer Roland Rainer (1 May 1910 – 10 April 2004) was an Austrian architect. Born in Klagenfurt, Roland Rainer decided to become an architect when he was 18, so he studied at the Vienna University of Technology. His thesis was about the Karlsplatz in ...

(1910–2004) * Daniel Richter (born 1962) * Rudolph Schwarz (1840–1912) *

Robert Sedlacek Robert Sedlacek, b. 23 July 1881 in Vienna, died 15 May 1957 in Vienna, was a commercial artist and illustrator. He illustrated the Else_Ury#Nesthäkchen_series, Nesthäkchen books of Else Ury. Early years Sedlacek trained with Siegmund L'Allem ...

(1881–1957) * Nasrine Seraji (born 1957) *

Tamuna Sirbiladze Tamuna Sirbiladze (12 February 19712 March 2016) was an artist based in Vienna, Austria. Life Sirbiladze was born in Tbilisi in Georgia. She studied art at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (19891994) in Georgia and later the Academy of Fine ...

(1971–2016) *

Hito Steyerl Hito Steyerl (born 1 January 1966) is a German filmmaker, moving image artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary.

(born 1966) * Paul Troger (1698–1762) * Norbert Troller (1900–1984)) * Rudolf von Alt (1812–1905) * Friedrich von Schmidt (1825–1891) * Henrik Weber (1818–1866) *

Kurt Weiss Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and is ...

(1895–1966) * Albert Zimmermann (1808–1888)

Notable rejects

* Adolf Hitler

In fiction

The Academy of Fine Arts in 1908 is the scene of the early chapters of the 2001 Alternative History novel ''The Alternative Hypothesis'' ("

La part de l'autre La Part de l'autre ("The One Part or The Other", also called "The Alternative Hypothesis") is a 2001 alternate history novel by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, the plot serving to illustrate the writer's ideas of Moral Philosophy. It consists of a fictio ...

") by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt. It is based on the assumption that had the young Adolf Hitler been accepted he might have become a recognized painter and never entered politics, and never become the dictator of Nazi Germany. The dramatic tension in the book's plot develops from the Academy staff, deliberating whether or not to admit Hitler, thinking of it as an unimportant matter concerning a single unknown student - while the readers are aware that in fact they are deciding the future of the entire world.

References

External links

*
Exhibition catalogues of Academy of Fine Arts in the Belvedere Digital Library

website of the Media Server
(archived 8 September 2005)

(archived 17 January 2005) {{authority control Universities and colleges in Austria Art schools in Austria Culture in Vienna 1692 establishments in Austria Educational institutions established in the 1690s Buildings and structures in Vienna Art museums and galleries in Vienna 1692 in art Theophil Hansen buildings