Portrait of the Architect Anton Dvořák, 1909

Among the plethora of portraits of famous artists created by Max Oppenheimer (1885–1954), the 1909 work Portrait of Anton Dvořák (1885–1964) is one of the earliest. It was likely executed before MOPP – as Oppenheimer was called – left Vienna for Berlin. The blue-green hues of the tie and eyes glow within the otherwise monochrome, pastel gray-brown shades of the oil painting. The full-lipped engineer and architect is depicted leaning back with a pondering expression. MOPP was friends with Egon Schiele. Both artists shared the characteristic of conveying a sense of tension and personality via the hands of the portrayed. Anton Dvořák’s right hand reaches for the left as in a handshake but only clutches the ring finger, while the index and middle finger are outstretched to clasp a cigarette.

RR, 2021