Factory in Berlin, 1921

As a painter, Herbert Boeckl (1894–1966) is an autodidact. He focuses fully on his calling only after the end of World War I. The Secessionist influences that mark his early works are soon discarded and he begins to attach greater importance to colors than to lines. His first important Expressionist works with strong abstracting tendencies are created as early as 1919. Color, applied in a pastose and expressive style, becomes the decisive factor in the years of 1921 to 1923. These eruptions are smoothed again in Berlin. His study trip to Berlin (1921/22) was made possible by his promoter, the Viennese art dealer Gustav Nebehay (1881–1935). The promising artist received a fixed monthly payment from Nebehay. In return, all works were the property of the gallery owner, who granted the artist a share in the sales. Six paintings were created during the artist’s time in Berlin, including the Factory in Berlin. The Berlin paintings are often seen as foreshadowing Boeckl’s later works: They are losing their purely depicting character and becoming increasingly abstract. The omission of modeling and shadows makes the objects in the pictures appear more planar. The oil paint is used autonomously and no longer serves to express the artist’s psyche.

Text Leopold Museum