Oskar Mulley

1891-1949 Austrian

Oskar Mulley

Vivid knife-painted mountain landscapes

Oskar Mulley was a modern Austrian painter who is primarily known for his paintings of mountain landscapes. He was born in Klagenfurt in 1891, where his artistic talent was discovered at an early age. Mulley attended the Städtische Gewerbeschule in Munich for one year, and then joined the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Alois Delug and Rudolf Jettmar. After completing his schooling, he initially worked as a theatrical painter before moving to Kufstein in 1918. Despite his initial unease regarding his new surroundings, his best-known works date to this period. Mountain landscapes, generally empty of people and with mere traces of rural life in the form of farms and chapels, are the dominant theme. His colourful images are unmistakeably vivid thanks to his techniques using a painting knife. His work was so popular outside of Austria during his lifetime that they were copied numerous times over, and Mulley was forced to file a lawsuit on the grounds of plagiarism. Mulley received numerous awards for his artistic work: in 1929 he was awarded the Wiener Volkspreis of Vienna’s Künstlerhaus, and he received the Golden Austrian State Medal for Fine Art in 1937. He was a member of renowned artists’ associations such as Vienna’s Künstlerhaus and Secession. When he moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen - where he would remain until his death in 1949 - his painting style also changed: the artist used softer, more flowing colours in his later works.

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Artworks by this artist