Nude Self-Portrait in Front of Easel, 1919

1919 was a year of transformation for the painter Herbert Boeckl. After the War, during which he had served at the Italian front, he decided to abandon his studies of architecture at the Vienna College of Technology and to focus exclusively on his work as an artist. He moved into a studio in Klagenfurt, which he would keep until 1923, and in July he married Maria Plahna (1898–1992), whom he had met during the War in 1916.
The decision of the 26-year-old Carinthian painter to dedicate himself entirely to painting, taken in the summer of 1919, seems to manifest itself in this watercolor. The artist presents himself at work – serious, intent and pensive, yet confident – standing in front of the easel with his upper body exposed.

KJ, 2023