TORSO EINES STEHENDEN JÜNGLINGS, WVZ. 29/b by Alfred Hrdlicka

Artwork Description

Original title of the artwork: TORSO EINES STEHENDEN JÜNGLINGS, WVZ. 29/b / TORSO OF A STANDING YOUNG MAN, VMS. 29/b

Alfred Hrdlicka was an important Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter, and writer. He is considered a political artist, many of his works being memorials warning against war and fascism. The material he preferred for his sculptures was stone.

Hrdlicka’s youth was marked by the political turbulences of the interwar period and the regime of National Socialism. Through his father, a Communist trade union functionary, Hrdlicka became aware of political problems at an early age. The focus of his work is on the traumatised people of the post-war years, with pain and sorrow inscribed in his expressive figures.