Artist Robert Auer (1873 - 1952) | ArtLiveAndBeauty

 

Robert Auer's paintings

Robert Auer (1873-1952) was born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1873. Robert Auer studied painting in Vienna and Munich art colleges. The Art Nouveau style was popular throughout Europe at the period, and Auer frequently worked in this new direction. Robert Auer was recognised as a great portrait painter (he painted over 150 portraits), a master of crafting allegorical situations, and an image of naked feminine nature. He was also a fan of ornamental arts. All of this may be seen, to varying degrees, in his 1914 essay "Allegory of Medical Science." Before us is not just an Art Nouveau creation, but also references to previous works, mythology, and philosophy. Robert Auer was the only Croatian painter to present his work at the famous Secession exhibition in Munich in 1896; his paintings were acknowledged (as part of the presentation of Croatian art) at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1906. Auer taught painting as a professor at the Art Academy of Zagreb, and he also maintained a private art school with his wife (also an artist, Leopoldina Auer-Schmidt).

The skull - as a theme of weakness, a well-known ending for all mortals, and at the same time - the pole, the opposite of which is youth, a sign of the feminine world, the birth of mankind and its cradle, leaves a lot of symbols for the observer. This is a lovely condition, but it is quite sensitive to outside influences. And medicine, like current Hygieia, holding a bowl and a snake, as if hearing and choosing whether to act in this situation, in this life - to save or refuse to aid. Hygiea is objective yet forceful, and she knows her stuff. Painting by Robert Auer - an effort at philosophical comprehension of many themes, it begs more questions than it answers - is redemption or suffering awaiting humanity? ; what is in the bowl - life or death, or perhaps even a placebo? ; how strong medication is... and many, many more. This diversity of queries and judgments from the observer is most likely a distinguishing trait of any talented work.