Erich Mallina

Prerau 1873 - 1954 Vienna

Erich Mallina was born in Prerau, Bohemia, in 1873. He studied at the teacher training college in Troppau and taught in a primary school from 1892 to 1898. In 1898, he began his studies at the Viennese School of Arts and Crafts under Alfred Roller, a set decorator, graphic designer and illustrator. In 1902, Erich Mallina started working as an assistant for free-style drawing at the Federal Education and Research Institute for Graphics in Vienna. The year after, he followed a vocation to teach at the School of Arts and Crafts and was granted the title of professor in 1906.
A particular highlight in Mallinas life was being awarded a gold medal for his participation in the Austrian pavilion of the world fair in St. Louis in 1906. Mallina had steadily regarded teaching as his main calling, which he kept on practicing until his retirement in 1930. Painting and creative work had always been an intimate personal pursuit for him.
Mallina was a member of the Theosophical Society, a fact that is strongly reflected in his creative work. He addresses mystically-occult, symbolistic and even Buddhist ideas. His works often depict spiritual and otherworldly female figures or choirs of angels. Amongst oil paintings, one can also find illustrations of fairy tales, caricatures and designs for calendars in his oeuvre.
Erich Mallinas latest works are dated to be from 1937. He died in Vienna in 1954.