The Nötsch Circle

The Nötsch Circle comprised four painters: Franz Wiegele (1887–1944) and Sebastian Isepp (1884–1954), both of whom were born in the village of Nötsch in the Carinthian Gailtal, and Anton Kolig (1886–1950) and Anton Mahringer (1902–1974), who made their home there, hailing from Moravia and Germany, respectively.

Porträts der vier männlichen Mitglieder des Nötscher Kreis
Nötscher Kreis
© Belvedere, Vienna

Within their individual approaches, each of these painters supported the principle of creating space through color and thus contributed uniquely and instrumentally to the art historical phenomenon of independent Austrian Expressionism.

Therefore, the Nötsch Circle ranks among the most influential of artist groups in Austria between the two world wars and played a significant role in shaping the image of Austrian painting in the first half of the 20th century. The group's prominence was by no means confined to their immediate realm of Carinthia – rather, it can instead be placed in a global context. The artists' extensive travel activities and their many complex relationships with intellectuals of the time are of great cultural and historical interest. As part of the research project, all accessible works by the Nötsch Circle artists were gathered, documented comprehensively in scientific terms, and made available in an image database. This project provides a reliable foundation for future scholarly research and appreciation.

 
Funding body

Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

 
Duration

1999 – 2004

 
Project management

Regine Schmidt

 
Project team

Sigrid Diewald, Bettina Schweighofer

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