Portrait of Niuta Kallin

Oskar KokoschkaWW-1917-092283

1917·Black crayon on tan wove paper, laid down on wood pulp board·66.3 × 49.7 cm (26 1/8 × 19 5/8 in.)

<p>The daughter of a Russian merchant, Niuta Kallin had an intimate relationship with Kokoschka and lived on and off with the artist between 1921 and 1925. The inscription below her left arm, which translates to “With passionate heart, your human arrow,” was often used by Kokoschka in his letters to Kallin. <em>Malina</em> (raspberry) was Kokoschka’s pet name for her and appears at the top left of the drawing. While the artist had written of her “stern and beautiful” eyes in a letter to her, this rendering captures the uncertainty brought on by their long distance relationship.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1917
Medium: Black crayon on tan wove paper, laid down on wood pulp board
Dimensions: 66.3 × 49.7 cm (26 1/8 × 19 5/8 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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