Aloys Wach

Aloys Wach or Aloys Ludwig Wachelmayr (sometimes Wachelmeier) was an Austrian expressionist painter and graphic artist. He was born in Lambach, Upper Austria on April 30, 1892 and died in Braunau, Upper Austria on April 18, 1940. While his birth places him close to the generation that laid the foundations of modern art and especially expressionism, his life as an artist, however, began after cubism, futurism and the expressionists of the Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke movements had initiated a time of great changes. In his later life, Wach abandoned his artistic roots and distanced himself from his early expressionist works by turning to religious imagery. Today, however, those early works are seen as his greatest accomplishments.

Related Topics:
Austrian - Expressionist - Lambach - Upper Austria - April 30 - 1892 - Braunau - April 18 - 1940 - Cubism - Futurism - Der Blaue Reiter - Die Brücke

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Wach decided to become an artist early on in his life, and already arrived in Vienna at the young age of 17, but initially suffered a series of set-backs. He was rejected as a student by the Academy in Munich and attempted unsuccessfully to study art in Vienna. He received formal education at the Knirr-Sailer painting school in Munich as well as, in 1913, at Academie Colarossi in Paris. He finished his studies with Heinrich Altherr in Stuttgart.

Related Topics:
Vienna - Munich - Academie Colarossi - Paris - Heinrich Altherr - Stuttgart

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In 1912, he briefly moved to Berlin. There, he met painter and graphic artist Jacob Steinhardt, who encouraged him to abandon older forms of expression and be courageous in the search for his own style. Wach was also confronted with the activities at the just opened Der Sturm Galerie, the German center of expressionism. Although it is not known for certain, he also probably saw the Blue Rider Exhibit and the first exhihibt of the futurist movement.

Related Topics:
Berlin - Jacob Steinhardt - Der Sturm Galerie - German - Blue Rider Exhibit - Futurist

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He then moved on to Paris, where he stayed from 1913 to 1914. He befriended Amedeo Modigliani and got introduced to some of the painters at Bateau-Lavoir. He must also have seen work by Robert Delaunay. He quickly understood the importance of the new structures in painting. In that period, he created mainly expressionist-cubist drawings, etchings and wood carvings. During his stay in Paris, he also met his most important friend and supporter, Ernest L. Tross, whom he should meet again in Vienna (1919) and Munich (1931).

Related Topics:
Paris - 1913 - 1914 - Amedeo Modigliani - Bateau-Lavoir - Robert Delaunay - Ernest L. Tross - 1919 - 1931

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Wach served in World War I in non-combative assignments. In 1916/7, he published seven woodcuts to accompany a poem by F.R. Zenz, Kriegstotentanz 1914.

Related Topics:
World War I - F.R. Zenz

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1919-1920 wood carving cycle "Der verlorene Sohn". From 1920 he created expressionist still-lifes, landscape paintings and portraits in Braunau, but later distanced himself from paintings of this period.

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1956 posthumous exhibitions with graphics in Hollywood and at the Country Museum in Los Angeles. Was not allowed to paint during the Nazi regime. Created two windows for hospital church in Braunau.

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