(Nowy Sacz, 8.1.1869 - Dunaj, 18.12.1919)
Adolf Karpellus was an Austro-Hungarian painter, illustrator and poster designer. He initially studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he was taught by Prof. Griepenkerl and Prof. Trenkwald. Karpellus was given further education by Ivan Bele, a Slovenian patron and art collector, who saw great potential in the young artist. He sent him to Paris, where he attended the Julien School.
At the beginning of his career, he remained faithful to academic realism in style. He was an extremely precise and skilled artist, as by correctly shading and lighting the figures he achieved a pleasant visual effect that the Viennese audience was looking for in painting. During this time, he painted mainly with oil paints and tempera, which he masterfully transferred to the canvas. Later, his realistic strokes softened somewhat and became increasingly fluid. At that time, he stylistically relied on Impressionism, which he had firsthand experience with in Paris. His artistic expression is dominated by earthy tones, which he occasionally enriched with shimmering light accents. He painted portraits, genre, landscapes and various mythological motifs. During his studies in France, he became enthusiastic about making posters.
After returning home, Karpellus became one of the most sought-after poster artists. With them, he completely distanced himself from the academic tradition of the Viennese school, which emphasized precise drawing and painting to scale. The new medium is dominated by soft lines and wavy inscriptions, which help to dynamize the composition and create a decorative effect of the whole. He created them in the watercolour technique. During the First World War, the Central Powers engaged him to create a series of promotional materials and postcards for them, with the help of which they would promote themselves. He also worked for the Viennese satirical newspaper Figaro and established himself as a key figure who modernized poster art in Austria. Karpellus is not only important in the wider Austrian area but also on our soil.
In 1900, he produced the art equipment for Poems by France Prešeren, which were published in Ljubljana. In 1905, he was accepted as a member of the Vienna Kuenstlerhaus and later joined the Siebner Club, which met in the Sperl café. He exhibited his artwork in numerous European art centers. He was well received by art critics, and in 1907 he was awarded a gold medal. The artist died in Vienna shortly after the war at the age of fifty-two.
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Adolf Karpellus je bil avstro-ogrski slikar, ilustrator in oblikovalec plakatov. Slikarstvo je sprva študiral na umetnostni akademiji na Dunaju, kjer sta ga poučevala prof. Griepenkerl in prof. Trenkwald. Nadaljnjo študijsko izobrazbo je Karpellusu omogočil Ivan Bele, slovenski mecen in zbiratelj umetnin, ki je v mladem umetniku videl velik potencial. Poslal ga je v Pariz, kjer je obiskoval šolo Julien.
Na začetku kariere je v slogu ostal zvest akademskemu realizmu. Bil je izjemno natančen in spreten umetnik, saj je s pravilnim senčenjem in svetljenjem figur dosegel prijeten likovni učinek, ki ga je v slikarstvu iskalo dunajsko občinstvo. V tem času je slikal predvsem z oljnimi barvami in tempero, ki ju je mojstrsko prenašal na slikarsko platno. Kasneje so se njegove realistične poteze nekoliko omehčale in postale so vse bolj tekoče. Takrat se je slogovno oprl na impresionizem, s katerim se je na lastne oči seznanil v Parizu. V njegovem likovnem izrazu prevladujejo zemeljski toni, ki jih je občasno popestril z lesketajočimi svetlobnimi poudarki. Slikal je portrete, žanr, krajine ter razne mitološke motive. Tekom študija v Franciji se je navdušil nad izdelovanjem plakatov.
Po vrnitvi domov je Karpellus postal eden najbolj iskanih plakatnih umetnikov. Z njimi se je popolnoma oddaljil od akademske tradicije dunajske šole, ki je v ospredje postavila natančno risbo in slikanje v merilu. V novem mediju namreč prevladujejo mehke linije in valoviti napisi, ki pripomorejo k dinamizaciji kompozicije in tvorijo dekorativni učinek celote. Izdeloval jih je v tehniki akvarela. Med prvo svetovno vojno so ga centralne sile angažirale, naj zanje izdela serijo promocijskega gradiva in razglednic, s pomočjo katerih se bodo promovirale. Delal je tudi za dunajski satirični časopis Figaro in se uveljavil kot ključna osebnost, ki je modernizirala plakatno umetnost v Avstriji. Karpellus pa ni zgolj pomemben v širšem avstrijskem prostoru ampak tudi na naših tleh.
Leta 1900 je izdelal likovno opremo za Poezije Franceta Prešerna, ki so jih izdali v Ljubljani. Leta 1905 so ga sprejeli med člane dunajske Kuenstlerhaus kasneje pa se je pridružil še Klubu Siebner, ki se je zbiral v kavarni Sperl. Svoje umetnine je razstavil po številnih evropskih umetnostnih središčih. Bil je dobro sprejet med umetnostnimi kritiki, zato so mu leta 1907 podelili zlato medaljo. Umetnik je tik po vojni umrl na Dunaju v starosti dvainpetdesetih let.
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
Eduard ANDORFER, s. v. Karpellus, Adolf, št. 19, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Leipzig 1926.
Bernhard DENSCHER, Gold gab ich für Eisen- Österreichische Kriegsplakate 1914-1918, Wien 1987.
Prof. H. FUCHS, Österreichische Maler des 19. Jahrhunderts, Vienna 1975.
B. PALMBACH, s. v. Karpellus, Adolf, št. 360., Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Berlin 2013
https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/ADOLF-KARPELLUS-(1869-1919)-LANGER--COMP--FABRIK---PHOTOGRAP?saleno=2336&lotNo=118&refNo=682690 (12.12.2024).
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