Distinguished Artist Series
Franz A. Bischoff
1864-1929
by Jean Stern
It would
be difficult to classify Franz Bischoff into any single school of painting.
He was certainly influenced by the Impressionists, as seen in his handling
of paint, his treatment of color in his earlier works and his love of open-air
painting. Yet he moves into advanced color handling and would probably be
more at home among the Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh and Gauguin. An
interesting little painting is The Sower, after Van Gogh, possibly
painted in Europe and at a time when Van Gogh's works were among the "avant-garde"
of art. Likewise, a unique painting of San Pedro harbor, painted entirely
in sealing waxes, is strongly suggestive of Van Gogh.
Many of his later works, such as Clouds Drifting Over
the Mountains and his Utah landscapes suggest a slight flirtation with
Expressionism, with a bold juxtaposition of colors, reminiscent of the Fauves'
aim to "liberate color from its role in nature," and explore the
psychological power of color. A late group of small panels painted in Big
Pine Canyon, near Bishop, California, show a remarkable progression, ending
with the provocative mountainscape painted in moody tones of green and purple.
In summation, Bischoff demonstrates
that he was first and last an exceptional colorist. Among a multitude of
Southern California painters who endlessly present the beautiful mountains,
the bright, sunny landscapes and the elegant, graceful eucalyptus trees,
Bischoff stands out for his enlightened handling of color, refreshingly
evident in his paintings of these same scenes. We clearly recognize this
genius today, yet in his time he was both blessed and damned for his use
of color: "Bischoff couldn't give us bad color if he tried, but he
can give us patches of color that don't belong to landscapes and he can--and
does--give us small areas of paint that are not, as mere paint, en rapport
with the areas beyond them. He sometimes employs two different methods of
laying paint in the same canvas and that fault annoys us." Today, more
than fifty years later, we find it delightful.
From top to bottom: Woman at Fountain, oil on canvas,
6 3/4 x 10 inches; Woman at Laguna Beach, oil on canvas, 6 3/4 x
9 3/4 inches; Stylized Mountains, oil on board, 13 x 19 inches.
Editor's notes:
Text and images courtesy of De Rus Fine Arts and Fine Arts
Books, 9100 Artesia Boulevard, Bellflower, CA 90706, (562) 920-1312, and
in Laguna Beach, CA (949) 376-3785. This essay was published by TFAO on
January 21, 2002 with permission of De Rus Fine Arts and Fine Arts Books
and the author.
TFAO has located another short biography
of Bischoff at the website of The Irvine Museum.
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It would
be difficult to classify Franz Bischoff into any single school of painting.
He was certainly influenced by the Impressionists, as seen in his handling
of paint, his treatment of color in his earlier works and his love of open-air
painting. Yet he moves into advanced color handling and would probably be
more at home among the Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh and Gauguin. An
interesting little painting is The Sower, after Van Gogh, possibly
painted in Europe and at a time when Van Gogh's works were among the "avant-garde"
of art. Likewise, a unique painting of San Pedro harbor, painted entirely
in sealing waxes, is strongly suggestive of Van Gogh.
