Oswald Tschirtner

1920 to 2007, Austria

He was born into a Catholic family in Vienna. Oswald Tschirtner adored biblical themes and wanted to become a priest. This was not possible for him because he was drafted into the military after his matriculation.

When he was released from French captivity in 1946, his problems started. He was hospitalised in Gugging as of 1954. He began drawing on the initiative of his psychiatrist Leo Navratil. He is considered one of Leo Navratil’s first discoveries. Leo Navratil received confirmation of Oswald Tschirtner’s talents in creating art in the Art Brut sense in an exchange of letters with Jean Dubuffet. Starting in 1981, he lived and worked at the House of Artists. He became famous for his cephalopods whose details are only hinted at. He is considered a master of minimalist imagery. Oswald Tschirtner gained international fame under the umbrella brand of Art Brut. With the earnings from his art, he had enough money to pay for his individual care at an advanced age. This made it possible for him to stay at his long-term residence and space for creating art in Gugging until his death. His biography is also an entrepreneurial success story.

Oswald Tschirtner’s works can be found in nearly all large Art Brut collections in the world. As of 2021, Oswald Tschirtner has also been represented in the 921 works of the “Donation d'Art Brut de Bruno Decharme” at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Selected works

We have decided to publish the artwork information in German only (Ausgestellt in: exhibited in, Abgebildet in: reproduced in)