Maria Lassnig

In Portrait von Ingrid und Oswald Wiener (Portrait of Ingrid and Oswald Wiener), Lassnig draws on the tradition of the double portrait, yet shifts the focus to different modes of perception. While Ingrid looks directly at the viewer, Oswald is engrossed in reading his newspaper. Both gazes simultaneously point beyond the immediately visible, addressing different forms of attention and self-perception. The newspaper Tagesspiegel published an exhibition review titled ​“Realism of the Irreal” (Heinz Ohff) on the Lassnig show at the Wiener & Würthle Gallery (1976) in Berlin, illustrated with a reproduction of that double portrait.

In the series Untersuchungen zum Entstehen eines Bewusstseinsbildes (Investigations into the Emergence of a Conscious Image), Lassnig focused specifically on the processes of seeing and the visual nature of mental images. These drawings and watercolors from the late 1970s are part of Lassnig’s long-standing exchange with Oswald Wiener. He gave Lassnig verbal ​“instructions” for their artistic realization, which she in turn annotated on her sheets: ​“I cannot draw ​‘understanding’” or ​“What comes to mind when I hear the word ​‘dog’?” Lassnig also visualized perceptions that ​“appeared in her mind’s eye” when her eyes were closed. These observations were ​“recorded” retrospectively, which required a different kind of perception and led to new forms of image composition. Some depictions are formally reminiscent of comic strips, though here the focus is less on a narrative and more on individual ​“snapshots.”

Nach O. Wieners Vorschlägen, 1976
Pencil on paper
45,8 × 60,9 cm, framed

Drawing after instruction from Ossi Wiener, ca. 1976 – 1979
Pencil, colored pencil, water-based pigment on paper
45,8 × 61 cm, framed

Bewusstseinsbild vom ​“Dog”, 1978
Colored pencil, felt-tip pen on paper
42 × 59,4 cm, framed

Ohne Titel, 1979
Pencil, felt-tip pen on paper
28 × 35,5 cm, framed

Portrait von Ingrid und Oswald Wiener, 1976
Oil on canvas
111 × 130 cm
Courtesy Ingrid Wiener, Kapfenstein

Was mir beim Wort ​“Liebe” einfiel, 1978
Watercolor, pencil on paper
41,9 × 56,5 cm, framed

Beim Wort ​“Amerika” erscheinen vorwiegend Landkarten, abstraktes Verhältnis, 1979
Watercolor, ballpoint pen, and pencil on paper
41,9 × 56,5 cm, framed

​“Was fällt mir beim Wort Hund ein?”, 1980
Watercolor, colored pencil on paper
43,8 × 62,6 cm, framed

All works Courtesy Maria Lassnig Foundation, Vienna