:The "Prometheus Triptych," the most important painting by Oskar
Kokoschka in the United Kingdom, will be exhibited for the first
time in a decade at the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery,
Somerset House, Strand, from Thursday, June 29, to Sunday,
September 17. The exhibition will not only be the first devoted
to the monumental "Prometheus Triptych," one of Kokoschka's
largest and most ambitious works, but will also offer visitors a
rare opportunity in a museum or gallery to contemplate in
isolation just one great work of art.
The "Prometheus Triptych" was commissioned in 1950 by Count
Antoine Seilern for the ceiling of his London house at 56 Princes
Gate. After his death, the count bequeathed the triptych,
together with his collection of Old Master paintings, to be
displayed at the Courtauld Institute of Art. The triptych was
rarely seen in public during Seilern's lifetime and because of
its enormous size - the three canvases together measure more than
12 feet wide - it has only been possible to show the work
infrequently since his death. However, the artist's fears for the
future of his painting, which he thought would be abandoned and
misunderstood by "a despicable contemporary world," have not been
realized.
Kokoschka (1886-1980) and Seilern (1901-1978) were both emigrés
in London, having left their native Austria during the 1930s as
the shadow of war loomed over Europe. Both were well-known
figures in the Viennese art world and Kokoschka had made his
reputation earlier in the century as one of the foremost
avant-garde artists of the Vienna Secession alongside Gustav
Klimt and Egon Schiele.
In the center, an apocalyptic vision unfolds of the four
horsemen rising up with a gathering storm from the underworld
and charging toward the earth.
Seilern bought a number of Kokoschka's works during the war,
but the idea of commissioning a ceiling painting only came in 1949.
This represented a major commitment to Kokoschka, who was the only
contemporary artist whose work formed a significant part of
Seilern's collection and Seilern devoted an entire room in Princes
Gate to Kokoschka's paintings.
The ceiling project was first discussed in the summer of 1949,
and by the end of the year Kokoschka had decided to begin work on
a central panel depicting the Apocalypse, to be followed by two
side panels. A contract for the center panel was drawn up in
January 1950 for 17,500 Swiss francs and by early February
Kokoschka had completed it. He then began work on the two side
panels, initially with a scene of Amor and Psyche, which he
abandoned in favor of Hades and Persephone. He worked on this
simultaneously with the other panel, which depicts the punishment
of Prometheus. Kokoschka seems to have made very few preparatory
sketches for the paintings and worked at speed directly on the
canvas.
Kokoschka worked with unceasing passion and commitment on the
triptych, driven by a firm belief in the painting's importance as
his most complete and powerful artistic achievement. When he
finished the monumental work on July 15, 1950, after only little
more than six months, he wrote, "I put the last brush-stroke - I
feel like saying axe-stroke - to my ceiling painting yesterday."
Kokoschka intended the work to make a public statement, and when
he persuaded Seilern to exhibit it at the 1952 Venice Biennale,
he stated that the triptych was a warning of the consequences of
"man's intellectual arrogance." He explained that the dangers
faced by contemporary civilization were symbolized by the figure
of Prometheus, "whose overweening nature drove him to steal fire
so that man could challenge the gods."
The artist's fear was that culture and society were being
dominated by science and technology, which threatened the freedom
and individuality of mankind. Such fears became widespread as the
cold war and nuclear arms race developed during the 1950s and the
"Prometheus Triptych" can be seen as prophetic of the period.
The left-hand panel, however, offers some sense of hope and
regeneration with Persephone springing out of the clutches of
Hades, who had abducted her, aided by her mother Demeter, who
stands between them. In a late alteration to the panel,
Kokoschka painted the figure of Hades as a self-portrait,
adding a further layer of complexity to the work.
When viewing the work, one is immediately struck by an
explosion of form and color with figures propelled through a
voidlike space ranging from the darkest shadows to the brightest
lights. In the center, an apocalyptic vision unfolds of the four
horsemen rising up with a gathering storm from the underworld and
charging towards the earth.
The right-hand panel depicts Prometheus as punished by Zeus,
chained to a rock with an eagle pecking at his liver. The
left-hand panel, however, offers some sense of hope and
regeneration with Persephone springing out of the clutches of
Hades, who had abducted her, aided by her mother Demeter, who
stands between them. In a late alteration to the panel, Kokoschka
painted the figure of Hades as a self-portrait, adding a further
layer of complexity to the work.
The exhibition of this work will be accompanied by a range of
documentary material comprising photographs, letters and catalogs
from archives in Vienna and London. The display will enhance the
understanding of the painting's contemporary context and allow
the visitor to explore the background of the commission, its
execution and subsequent reception. A selected display of
Kokoschka's works from Seilern's collection, including the
celebrated early woodcuts "The Dreaming Youths," 1906-07, will be
installed in an adjacent room.
In addition, there will be a gallery guide, a series of lectures
and other educational events.
For information, 20 7848 2526 or www.courtauld.ac.uk.
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