Guard

Künstler*in Greta Freist (1904 Weikersdorf – 1993 Paris)

Object typePainting
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
46 x 65,5 cm
SignatureSign. und dat. rechts unten: Freist 38
Inventory number6560
Locations Belvedere, Upper Belvedere, 2. Floor (east), Room SO1
After studying at the Vienna academy, Greta Freist shared a studio in Döbling with her colleague and partner Gottfried Goebel and the writer Heimito von Doderer, which became a meeting place for artists and writers. In 1936 she emigrated with Goebel to Paris. Within her œuvre, which featured many changes in style, the magically tinged realism of these years stands out in particular, demonstrating her intensive exploration of Surrealism. In the 1938 painting The Guard, the artist imagines a moonlit underwater scene that may be interpreted as a comment on the widespread ignorance about the political upheavals of the time.

The Polish Painter Jahl