Hans Gasser
Hans Gasser | |
|---|---|
 Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl | |
| Born | 2 October 1817 |
| Died | 24 April 1868 (aged 50) |
Hans Gasser (1817 – 1868) was an Austrian painter and sculptor. His name is sometimes spelled Hanns, and he was baptized as Johann. He shortened his name to avoid confusion with a now-forgotten
Life and work
His father, Jakob, was a Master carpenter. His older brother,
In 1848, he took part in the Austrian Revolutions. For a short period, from 1850 to 1851, he was a professor at the Vienna Academy, but he disliked teaching and resigned. This was followed by many unsettled years of wandering, during which he worked on commissions, public and private, in numerous European cities. Many were executed quickly, and some critics believe they were done carelessly as well.[2]
Eventually, he possessed enough wealth to buy a house with a garden in Vienna's Margareten district. There, he built an expensive studio in medieval style. He also began collecting various artifacts; including cabinets, Limoges enamels, carpets, embroidery, metal, glass, and copper engravings. They were piled up in complete disorder, together with junk;[2] making him what would now be called a "hoarder". Although he showed great moderation when it came to his physical needs, this obsessive collecting led to his financial situation becoming comparably disordered. Deeply in debt, he was rescued by a group of art lovers who ordered his affairs and sold the largest part of his property.[2] After that, he returned to collecting, in a more organized manner. Upon his death, 397 art objects of his own creation and 834 assorted works of art were auctioned off. Some were acquired by public collections.
A street in Vienna was named in his honor in 1875. A class kkStB 151 steam engine was also named after him, presumably in recognition of his constant travelling. There is a "Hanns-Gasser-Platz" in Villach.
References
- ^ Heinrich Hermann: Handbuch der Geschichte des Herzogthumes Kärnten in Vereinigung mit den österreichischen Fürstenthümern. Vol.3, Klagenfurt 1860
- ^ a b c d Weiß, Karl (1878), "Gasser, Hans", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 8, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 398–401
Further reading
- "Gasser Hanns". In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Vol. 1, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1957, p. 406.
- C. Wiesboeck: "Hanns Gasser" (obituary), in: Archiv für die zeichnenden Künste mit besonderer Beziehung auf Kupferstecher- und Holzschneidekunst und ihre Geschichte / im Vereine mit Künstlern und Kunstfreunden, pp. 98ff
- A. W. Wagner: "Hans Gasser. Ein deutsches Künstlerleben", In: Illustrirte Zeitung, Nr. 1301 6 June 1868, pp. 399 ff.
External links
- "Die Wiener Fassadenplastiken Hanns Gassers" by Erzsébet Kóré, Master's thesis, University of Vienna
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