Oskar Kokoschka and his autobiographical lithographs

Hey everyone I wanted to share with you some images and details about Oskar Kokoschka and his lithographs, which he did for the Bach cantata with the name:

The drawings reflect on Kokoschkas life and his relationship with Alma Mahler. Alma Mahler was the wife of the famous composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. She was a famous personality in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century, as she was part of the music, literature and art movement at the time.

Oskar Kokoschka met her when he was hired to draw a portrait of Alma Mahler. Kokoschka fell in love with her the first night they met and they had a very intense relationship for about 3 years. In these 3 years they experienced a lot of ups and downs. Kokoschka was a very jealous partner and he tried to control her social life. Alma got pregnant but decided to get an abortion, a loss for Kokoschka from which he never fully recovered. Next to these dramatic events they were madly in love and when Alma Mahler decided to break up with Oskar Kokoschka it was very hard for both of them.

After the break up Kokoschka went to war and was badly injured. Alma Mahler did not visit him at the hospital because she said she does not believe his wounds nor him anymore. When Kokoschka returned home he hired a doll-maker to produce a doll which should look exactly like his lost love Alma. The doll was later destroyed but it was build with every detail Kokoschka remembered about Almas body and features.

His relationship to Alma Mahler inspired him a lot and very famous paintings like the “Windsbraut” were created during this period. He kept on saying that at least in these paintings they are together forever. Kokoschka compared his love for Alma Mahler to the medival story of “Tristan and Iseult” which symbolizes the pain and heartbreak he had to go through.