Hermann Nitsch

Biography

Hermann Nitsch was born in Vienna in 1938 and is one of the most important and internationally known representatives of Viennese Actionism. Immediately after graduating from the Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, he came up with the idea of the Orgien Mysterien Theater (Orgies Mysteries Theater), a six-day festival that has continuously occupied him ever since and in which all his artistic endeavors are gathered. His action and exhibition activities in Vienna in the 1960s led to several lawsuits and three prison sentences, which caused Nitsch to turn his back on Austria for a while. He subsequently lived in Germany until 1978. In 1971 he acquired the Prinzendorf Castle in Lower Austria, which was to be the future venue of the Orgien Mysterien Theater. In 2007 the "Hermann Nitsch Museum" was opened and in the following year in Naples the "Museo Archivio Laboratorio per le Arti Contemporanee Hermann Nitsch". The artist was honored with numerous awards such as the Great Austrian State Prize for his work. Hermann Nitsch died on April 18, 2022 in Mistelbach.