1. Maria Lassnig was an Austrian artist known for her painted self-portraits and her theory of "body awareness".
16 Facts About Maria Lassnig
1. 2.
Maria Lassnig was the first female artist to win the Grand Austrian State Prize in 1988 and was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 2005.
3.
Maria Lassnig was born in Kappel am Krappfeld, Austria, on 8 September 1919.
4.
Maria Lassnig's mother gave birth to her out of wedlock and later married a much older man, but their relationship was troubled and Lassnig was raised mostly by her grandmother.
5.
Maria Lassnig attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna during World War II.
6.
Maria Lassnig is credited with helping to introduce Informalism and Tachisme into postwar Austrian art.
7.
In 1951 Maria Lassnig traveled to Paris with Arnulf Rainer where they organized the exhibition Junge unifigurative Malerei at the Karnten Art Association.
8.
In 1948 Maria Lassnig coined the term "body consciousness" to describe her practice.
9.
Maria Lassnig was a chair at the University until 1997.
10.
Maria Lassnig continued to paint, and in 2008 made her provocative self-portrait, You or Me, which exemplifies the often confrontational nature of her works.
11.
In 2013 Maria Lassnig received the Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement at the 55th Venice Biennale.
12.
Well into her sixties and late in her career, Maria Lassnig began to receive widespread recognition, especially in Europe.
13.
Maria Lassnig represented Austria at the Venice Biennale with Valie Export in 1980.
14.
Maria Lassnig participated in documenta in both 1982 and 1997.
15.
Maria Lassnig's work was included in the 2022 exhibition Women Painting Women at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
16.
Critics have pointed to the influence that Maria Lassnig's work had on contemporary artists like Nicole Eisenman, Dana Schutz, Thomas Schutte, and Amy Sillman.