Otto von Thoren 1828 Wien-1889 Paris

Otto von Thoren (Karl Kasimir Otto Ritter von Thoren) was already intensively engaged in self-taught painting in 1846, the year of his appointment as an officer. In 1848 he took part in the Hungarian and then the Upper Italian campaigns. Afterwards he lived for some years in Venice, where he became adjudant to the field marshal lieutenant Count Gorgowsky in 1856. From 1857 he devoted himself exclusively to painting. Paris and Brussels were first and important stations for his artistic studies, in Amsterdam he finally attended the academy. Until the mid-1860s he lived in Paris, from where he made frequent study trips to Szolnok in Hungary. In a relatively short time he succeeded in making a name for himself as an animal painter in particular, but he also enjoyed success as a landscape and portrait painter. His fine observation of nature and impressionist-like compositions are characteristic. He subsequently moved to Vienna for a few years, where (in the mid-1860s) he executed an equestrian portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph. The painting was a success, exhibited in Paris and later presented as a gift to Napoleon III. Otto von Thoren regularly mounted exhibitions in Paris, Antwerp, Vienna and Ghent. In the 1870s he returned to Paris and made numerous trips to Italy and within France. Otto von Thoren was a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus from 1861, a member of the Academy in Amsterdam from 1863, a member of the Vienna Academy from 1868, and a member of the Academy in Petersburg from 1879. At the International Art Exhibition in Munich he received the Golden Medal in 1869, in Vienna he was awarded the Golden State Medal at the International Art Exhibition in 1882. Works by the artist can be found in the following museums, among others: Österr. Galerie Belvedere, Vienna; Leopold Museum, Vienna; Steiermärkische Landesgalerie Joanneum, Graz; during the artist's lifetime the following international museums purchased works: Brooklyn Museum, New York; Gdansk City Museum; Ghent Museum; Leipzig Museum; Luxembourg Museum, Paris; Corcoran Gallery, Washington.

 

Literature

Ausst. Kat. "Orient & Okzident, Österreichische Maler des 19. Jahrhunderts auf Reisen", Österr. Galerie Belvedere, Wien 2012