Dream Vision

Description

Kokoschka worked in the style of the Viennese Art Noveau, or Jugendstil (Youth Style), in which artists sought to disassociate with so-called high art and focus on decorative arts, printmaking, and the book arts. Kokoschka illustrated several books: shown here is a scene from Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, the story of a shipwrecked sailor stranded on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. Although the book was intended for adults, Kokoschka’s illustration resembles one from a children’s book, with its thick black lines and bold colors. The crowded, shallow space in the composition reflects the anxiety Crusoe feels, as he is trapped in the strange, dreamlike world of the island.

Provenance

Unknown collector, Vienna [illegible partial stamp (ZO…T [ZOLLAMT] / WIEN / 5; not in Lugt) verso, upper left, in black]. Private collection, Vienna; sold, Sotheby’s, London, June 28, 1995, lot 150, to Dorothy Braude Edinburg, Brookline, MA; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.

Dream Vision

Oskar Kokoschka

1908/09

Accession Number

186100

Medium

Pen and black ink, with watercolor and red gouache, over graphite, on tan wove paper

Dimensions

22.8 × 17.9 cm (9 × 7 1/16 in.)

Classification

prints and drawing

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection