Franz von Zülow

Biography

Franz von Zülow was born in Vienna in 1883. He was educated from 1902 onward at the k.k. Graphischen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt and between 1903 and 1906 at the School for Applied Arts under Felician von Myrbach, Kolo Moser and Carl Otto Czeschka. Success arrived quite early. Beginning with 1905 Zülow worked for the Wiener Werkstätte and in 1908 he became a member of the Klimt Group. Stylistically speaking the young Zülow came under the influence of the early Secession. Simplification down to the essentials in form, space and colour planes were exploited adroitly by Zülow from 1903 onward in his paper cutting prints. Up until 1915 Zülow worked only in graphics and experimented with the most diverse techniques. Zülow devoted himself to the artistic possibilities inherent in expressionism from 1915 onward. In 1929 the artist moved with his wife to Hirschbach, Upper Austria, where he made numerous studies of the Mühlviertel. He developed a dynamic formal language that continuously gained in playful nonchalance. The group of works in tracing relief technique from 1942 to 1950 reflect this development. Zülow could implement themes with an agility that allowed a great deal of leeway for his narrative verve and fantasy. Journeys through Europe to Africa inspired him, a large part of his oeuvre deals with sagas, scenes from the Bible, rural life and the animal kingdom.