Franz Hagenauer

Franz Hagenauer created a tension-filled synthesis of sculpture and refined arts and crafts. He masterfully went through different modes of expression, influenced in phases by Neo-Classicism, the Bauhaus movement, Art Deco and popular culture. With their reduced forms, his heads made from chased metal are among the most radical Modernist forays in Austrian art of the interwar period. The son of the renowned Viennese chaser and metalworker Carl Hagenauer enjoyed a varied artistic education at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts under Franz Cižek, Anton Hanak and Josef Hoffmann, while Dagobert Peche afforded him insights into the workings of the Wiener Werkstätte. His participations in large-scale exhibitions in Paris in 1925, in Milan in 1930 as well as in the 1936 Venice Biennale marked the early stages of his professional success. The artist’s exploration of the material of wood during the post-war era invested his objects with a warmer and more sensual touch. After the death of his brother Karl, Franz took over the family workshop.