Art Column
by Leaf
A few days ago, while I was procrastinating on my article and waiting for inspiration to come to me, I came across this amazing guy called Alfred Kubin quite by accident. It is one of the best accidents I've ever had. Some of his works are appropriate for the Halloween mood, too.
This is one of his brilliant pen and ink drawings, Fright. It's just downright creepy.
The Pond.
Kubin was an Austrian artist and author, born in 1877 in Leitmeritz in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Hour of Birth. Poor kid.
Kubin's style is fascinating. Dark, soft colours. Sketchy lines. Always traces of Expressionism. Sometimes haunting, sometimes creepy, sometimes just plain indescribable.
During my research, I came across this article called "Alfred Kubin: The Art of the Insane", but it was in German, and Google Translate was of very limited help. The title of the article, however, raises some interesting ideas. 'Art of the insane' is a sort of art style, as mental illnesses are said to be able to lead to different types of creativity and inspiration for art.
At age 19, Kubin tried to commit suicide, and a short military career ended in a nervous breakdown. I'm going to be cautious with my assumptions here, but the suicide attempt, and the breakdown, suggest that Kubin might not have been entirely mentally healthy. The Wikipedia article on him isn't particularly long, so I'll assume not that much is known about him, and I'll leave that train of thought there.
I'll leave you now with another of his... cheerful drawings.
The Painter. (I wouldn't want something like this to happen to you, so please be careful if you're going to spend Halloween painting.)
-Leaf