Otto Barth (3 October 1876 – 9 August 1916) was an Austrian painter, graphic artist and

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

Biography

He was born in Vienna. His father was an ornamental gardener. As a child, he was weak and sickly and worked to strengthen himself through mountain climbing. After showing some talent for sketching, he attended a drawing school and later enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

. He was close friends with the painter,

Gustav Jahn Gustav Jahn (17 May 1879, Vienna - 17 August 1919, on the , Ennstal Alps) was a landscape painter, poster artist and mountaineer who lived most of his life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Early life and education Gustav Jahn was born in 187 ...

, who was also an enthusiastic mountaineer. They went on several expeditions together, some of which were

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

s. The two seemed to be a mismatched pair, as Jahn was always in a good mood, whereas Barth was generally gloomy and dissatisfied with his work. He was a member of the Hagenbund and co-founded an artists' group known as "Phalanx". He also received several commissions for paintings in public buildings, such as the new wing of the

Salzburg Hauptbahnhof Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (German for Salzburg main station; abbreviated Salzburg Hbf and occasionally translated as Central Station) is the main railway station in Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg in Austria. It is the most import ...

and a new hotel in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. Although aged only 39, he began to suffer from coronary problems. After some extensive investigation, it was determined that he was probably being poisoned by lead vapors, emanating from the paints in his studio, where he generally slept. He continued to deteriorate and died in 1916 in Waidhofen. His friend, Jahn, died in a climbing-related accident three years later.

Sources

* Gustav Schmidt: ''Nachruf zum Tode Otto Barths'' in the ''Österreichischen Alpenzeitung'' (Österreichischer Alpenklub) from 5 Oktober 191
Online
* Hanns Barth: ''Der Alpenmaler Otto Barth, Zeitschrift des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins'', Verlag d. D. Ö. A. Bruckmann, Munich 1931

External links

@ the Gustav Jahn website {{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Otto Austrian graphic artists Austrian male artists Landscape artists Austrian mountain climbers 1876 births 1916 deaths 20th-century Austrian painters 20th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters Artists from Vienna Lead poisoning incidents Painters from Austria-Hungary