Commerce Counselor Ebenstein

Oskar KokoschkaWW-1908-131839

1908·Oil on canvas·101.8 × 81.1 cm (40 1/16 × 31 15/16 in.)

<p>The sitter for this portrait, Ernest Ebenstein, was a distinguished tailor to the Austrian aristocracy. Ebenstein took an interest in the young Oskar Kokoschka and offered not only to make the artist’s clothes but also to instruct him in anatomy. In exchange for a fine suit, the tailor commissioned this portrait, which was one of the first mature works Kokoschka ever completed. Shortly after the Art Institute acquired the work in the mid-1950s, the artist visited the museum and recalled Ebenstein as a charming and kind man who taught him more about anatomy than anyone else.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1908
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 101.8 × 81.1 cm (40 1/16 × 31 15/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Oskar Kokoschka

Artist

Oskar Kokoschka

Painting

Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expressionist movement.

Pöchlarn, Austria

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