Franz von Zülow

_{Vienna 1883 - 1963 Vienna}

Franz von Zülow was born in Vienna in 1883. He was educated at the k. k. Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt (Imperial-Royal Institution of Education and Research) from 1902 onward and at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School for Applied Arts) under Felician von Myrbach, Kolo Moser and Carl Otto Czeschka between 1903 and 1906. Success came quite early on: from 1905, Zülow worked for the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna’s Workshops) and in 1908, he became a member of the “Klimt group“. Stylistically speaking, the young Zülow was influenced by the early Secession. Simplification down to the essentials in form, space and colour planes were exploited adroitly by Zülow from 1903 onward in his paper cutting prints. Up until 1915, Zülow worked only in graphics and experimented with the most diverse techniques. Zülow devoted himself to the artistic possibilities inherent in expressionism from 1915 onward. He developed a dynamic formal language that continuously gained in playful nonchalance. Zülow could implement themes with an agility that allowed a great deal of leeway for his narrative verve and fantasy. Inspired by his journeys through Europe and Africa, a large part of his Œuvre deals with sagas, scenes from the Bible, rural life and the animal kingdom. Franz von Zülow died in Vienna in 1963.