Arnold Clementschitsch

_{Villach 1887 - 1970 Villach}

Arnold Clementschitsch was born in 1887 in Villach. He attended the Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna in 1908 and he was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1909. In 1910 Arnold Clementschitsch studied at the Viennese School for Applied Arts under Bertold Löffler. It was here that the artist was confronted with French post-impressionism and he was able to learn the French style of painting. Clementschitsch attended a course on nudes under Gustav Britsch in 1911 at the School for Graphics and Book Script in Munich and this apprenticeship proved formative for his coming artistic output. In 1946 Arnold Clementschitsch was appointed professor and was awarded the Great Austrian State Prize in 1963.
His post-impressionist phase was followed by one employing more reduced forms of expression. Alongside portraiture, Clementschitsch also devoted himself to very atmospheric landscapes with a strong lyrical character. One of his favorite motifs was the Ossiachersee. Arnold Clementschitsch died on
10 December 1970 in Villach.