Ernst Fuchs

Ernst Fuchs (February 13, 1930 – November 9, 2015) was a versatile Austrian artist: painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, architect, stage designer, composer, and poet. He is best known as one of the founders of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism.  

Fuchs studied sculpture with Emmy Steinbock in 1943 and attended the St. Anna Painting School in 1944 under Professor Fröhlich. In 1945, he joined the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he was a student of Robin Christian Andersen and later of Albert Paris von Gütersloh.  

During his studies, he met Arik Brauer, Rudolf Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter, and Anton Lehmden, with whom he later founded the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. He was also a co-founder of the Art-Club in 1946 and the Hundsgruppe in 1951, alongside Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Arnulf Rainer.  

Fuchs' work is characterized by religious and mystical themes, employing luminous colors and rich textures. He rediscovered and adopted the "mischtechnik" (mixed technique) of the Old Masters, combining egg tempera with oil glazes mixed with resin, achieving a jewel-like effect.

Between 1950 and 1961, Fuchs lived primarily in Paris and traveled to the United States and Israel. In 1957, he stayed at the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, where he worked on his monumental "Last Supper" and created works on religious themes, such as "Moses and the Burning Bush." He also received a commission for three altar paintings on parchment, the cycle of the "Mysteries of the Holy Rosary" (1958-1961), for the Rosary Church in Hetzendorf, Vienna.

In 1972, Fuchs acquired the ruined Otto Wagner Villa in Hütteldorf, which he restored and transformed into the Ernst Fuchs Museum, inaugurated in 1988. From 1974 onward, he became involved in designing sets and costumes for Mozart and Wagner operas, including *The Magic Flute*, *Parsifal*, and *Lohengrin*. In 1993, a retrospective was dedicated to him at the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, making him one of the first Western artists to be honored in this way.  

Fuchs received numerous distinctions, including the Vienna Prize for Visual Arts in 1972, the title of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in 2000, the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st Class in 2009, the Grand Decoration of Carinthia in 2010, and the Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the City of Vienna in 2010.  

Ernst Fuchs passed away in Vienna on November 9, 2015, at the age of 85.