Brauer, Arik [Erich]

        * Vienna, 4 Jan 1929). Austrian painter, printmaker, stage designer and
        singer. He studied from 1945 to 1951 with Albert Paris Gütersloh at the
        Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, where his colleagues included
        ernest Fuchs , Rudolf Hausner,  Wolfgang Hutter and Anton Lehmden , with
        whom he developed the style known as Fantastic Realism. He first
        exhibited his works with the Art-Club at the Zedlitzhalle. In 1950 he cycled
        from Vienna to Paris, also travelling to Spain, North Africa, Israel and
        Yemen. During this period he struggled to earn a living as a folk singer.
        From 1958 he lived and worked as an artist in Paris and from 1964 he
        divided his time between Vienna and the house he had built and decorated
        himself in Ein Hod, an artists’ village in Israel.

               Brauer’s early paintings were strongly influenced at first by the peasant
        paintings of Pieter Bruegel I in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and
        then by the work of Hieronymus Bosch; Brauer developed an anecdotal
        style, mainly depicting rustic landscape genre scenes. After 1955, following
        a visit to Israel, he became interested in Persian and Indian miniatures; their
        influence introduced orientalizing elements and brilliant colours into his
        work, seen for example in Jericho 1956–7; Basle, Germaine Liechti priv.
        col., see Brauer, 1984, i, pp. 76–7) and in the Rainmaker of Carmel
        1964; Hamburg, Rolf Gillhausen priv. col., see Brauer, 1984, i, pp.
        250–51).

               Brauer often used Jewish and Old Testament traditions as the basis of
        his works, which show a fairy-tale world, as is true of his portfolios of
        colour etchings. He also designed stage sets, for example for the Magic
        Flute 1977; Paris, Théâtre National de l’Opéra), and is a renowned and
        successful singer of folk songs.

             WRITINGS

             Arik Brauer: Das Runde fliegt: Texte, Lieder, Bilder Munich, 1983)
             Arik Brauer: Werkverzeichnis, 3 vols Dortmund, 1984)


             PRINTS

             Les Travaux des champs Paris, 1967)
             Aus den Sprüchen Salomos Vienna, 1970–71)
             Chass. Erzählungen Paris, 1973)


             BIBLIOGRAPHY

             Die Wiener Schule des Phantastischen Realismus exh. cat.,
             Hannover, Kestner-Ges., 1965)
             W. Schmied: Brauer Vienna, 1972)
             W. Koschatzky: Brauer Graphik das graphische Werk, 1971–1974)
             Glarus, 1974)

             Werke: Die Verfolgung des jüdischen Volks, Zyklus, ab 1973;
             Menschenrechte, 1975 Zyklus von Farbradierungen); Bühnenbilder
             u. Kostüme zur "Zauberflöte" von W. A. Mozart an der Pariser Oper,
             1975; Die Ritter von der Reuthenstopf, 1986 Kinderbuch); Sesam
             öffne dich, 1989 Fernsehspiel mit Tochter Timna B.); A.-B.-Haus in
             Wien 6, Gumpendorfer Straße, fertiggestellt 1993.

              T. Flemming Editor.), Arik Brauer - Werkverzeichnis, Vienna, 1984.