Rudolf Liemberger (Max)

1937 to 1988, Austria

Rudolf Liemberger was born in Baden, Lower Austria. He was not trained for any profession and from the age of 17 he underwent frequent psychiatric treatment.

He became known under the pseudonym “Max”, which he used to sign his drawings. Immediately after his admission to the hospital in Gugging, he produced a large number of test drawings. After that he continued to draw from time to time. To start with his subjects were people, but his drawings became less and less representational and increasingly dominated by dense cross-hatching. As he drew, he became immersed in his own movements, so that his work can be seen as tracings of these movements, with a striking spatial element.

His work can be seen in the Lentos Kunstmuseum in Linz, and in the collection of Arnulf Rainer, Vienna.

Selected works