8 January 2021


Annotation on 4 May 2021: Exhibition runtime extended until 16 May 2021.

Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum presents the various sides of Franz von Defregger through the history of the reception of the painter's work and his role as art entrepreneur

Due to the lockdown until 24 January in Austria, the exhibition about the polarizing work of painter Franz von Defregger 'Defregger. Mythos - Missbrauch - Moderne' (translated Mythos - Misuse - Modernism) at Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, Tyrol is closed to the public. Already the opening on 17 December 2020 happened as a virtual event and can be re-watched via video (embedded below, use the auto translation feature at the settings for the subtitles). The video begins with an introduction by Peter Assmann, Director of the Tiroler Landesmuseen (Tyrolean State Museums), speaking about the research on the painter's work and the reception of his work, especially the 'misuse' of Defregger's work after his death (lived from 1835 to 1921) during the time of National Socialism, the instrumentalization for political purposes, keyword racism. Franz von Defregger was one of the favored artists of Adolf Hitler. But the oeuvre of Franz von Defregger has more connotations to explore than the ones from the 30ies, 40ies of the 20th century.

In the video, the 'master of staging' - such as Defregger is named by Peter Assmann - is presented with a painting inspired by the Tiroler Freiheitskampf (Tyrolean Freedom Fight) or Tyrolean Rebellion from 1809. Director Peter Assmann deciphers the scene even with reference to the festive costumes. Mediated by the image, it appears such as Tyroleans were in their festive costumes every day, worked in the special clothing or even fought a rebellion in Sunday wear. Festive clothing wasn't the everyday wear in Tyrol in the early 19th century; it's part of Defregger's 'staging'. Peter Assmann compares the construction of the scene (with nice dog, cute boy,...) with the design of images known from TV series on show at the evening programme. These image worlds made Franz von Defregger famous and rich.

On the other side, Franz von Defregger was interested in French Impressionism and other cultures resulting in portraits of dark-skinned people. The painter lived from 1863 until 1865 in Paris. At the show, one room is entirely dedicated to the strong influence of Paris, French art on Defregger. Another room is dedicated to 'Gender Roles' at Defregger's oeuvre concerning definitions of male and female roles around 1900 including the situation of women when married. The room with modern paintings from around 1900 is one of the largest. Here, Defregger's rather unknown modern works are shown and compared to paintings by artists like Van Gogh.
Other aspects concern the art business and how Defregger supported the distribution, the sale of his work with media respectively public relation activities and reproduction rights. How he dealt with art publishers and journalists makes him a modern artist of the late 19th century, an art entrepreneur.

The exhibition of the various sides of Franz von Defregger is on view (after the currently ongoing lockdown) until 11 April 16 May 2021 at Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol.

Image: Exhibition view 'Defregger. Mythos - Missbrauch - Moderne', Ferdinandeum, Tyrol, 18 December 2020 - 11 April 16 May 2021. From left: "Das Letzte Aufgebot" (1874, Belvedere, Wien) und "Der Kriegsrat Andreas Hofers im Jahr 1809" (1897, Neue Pinakothek, München). Photo: © Wolfgang Lackner, www.innfoto.at.