Zoom
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 pivotal transitional phase in which the young artist developed his independent and unmistakable style. Prachensky studied both painting and architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. His early work was still defined by geometric motifs; however, upon completing his studies in 1956, he arrived at the intuitive, almost calligraphic brushwork that would establish him as a celebrated pioneer of Austrian Art Informel.
“I absolutely wanted to break out of the geometric grid in which I felt trapped. For nearly a year I did nothing but draw, trying to develop a gesture of the hand – one might call it a kind of handwriting – through which I sought to free myself, to gain freedom. Red had always fascinated me; I knew this was the color in which I could express myself. The color of my life. Yes, that is it: very early on I had the idea that red was the color of my life.” Markus Prachensky, 2002
Around 1963 – the year the present dynamic work was created – Prachensky first began contrasting red with tones of blue and black. Stylistically, this compelling early work is closely related to the “Lanzenreiter”-series, created the following year, and represents its earliest formulation.