Ernst Fuchs

Ernst Fuchs was born on February 13, 1930 in Vienna, Austria. His father, Maximilian Fuchs, son of an orthodox Jewish family, turned down a career as a Rabbi and married Leopoldine, a Christian. When the Nazis occupied Austria in March 1938, Ernst was deported to a transit camp for children of mixed racial origin.
In 1942 Fuchs was baptized as a Catholic, an event of the utmost significance for him that determined his future life and work.
In 1948 he was instrumental in the founding of the "Vienna School of Fantastic Realism".
In 1950 he settled in Paris where he remained for 12 years.
In 1957 Fuchs went to Israel where he lived in the Dormition Monastery on Mount Zion where he began work on his monumental Last Supper.
In 1974 he returned to Austria where he acquired the Otto Wagner villa in Vienna-Hütteldorf. In 1988 he opened the Ernst Fuchs Private Museum, on the occasion of the centenary of the "Villa Wagner". As a print-maker he produced several important cycles of prints, such as Unicorn (1950–52), Samson (1960–64), Esther (1964-7) and Sphinx (1966-7; all illustrated in Weis). The artist lived and worked in the south of France. He continued to work in many media until his death in Vienna on November 9, 2015.

Submitted by G & O Art