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1932 Innsbruck/Tyrol – 2011 Vienna
- Title
- „Lanzenreiter“ („Lancer“)
- Time
- 1963
- signed
- and dated lower right “Prachensky 63”
- Technique
- ink on paper
- Measurements
- 27 ½ × 19 ¾ in
This early work by the renowned Austrian painter Markus Prachensky was created during a significant period of transition, in which the young artist developed his own distinctive and unmistakable style. Prachensky studied both painting and architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. His earliest works were composed of geometric motifs; however, upon completing his studies in 1956, he arrived at an intuitive, almost calligraphic line that ultimately led him to become the pioneer of Austrian Art Informel for which he is celebrated today.
„I was determined to break free from the grid of the geometric in which I felt trapped—I wanted to break out. For almost a year, I did nothing but draw, trying to develop a gesture of the hand—one might say a handwriting—through which I could become free, could gain freedom. Red had always fascinated me; I knew: this is the color in which I can express myself. The color of my life. Yes, that’s it: very early on, I had the idea that red was the color of my life.“ (Markus Prachensky, 2002)
Around 1963 – the year in which the present dynamic work was created – Prachensky first set the color red in contrast with tones of blue and black. Stylistically, this compelling early work is closely related to the „Lanzenreiter“ („Lancer“) series created the following year, and likely represents its initial development.