fig.: 'Frühes Tor' (transl. 'Early Goal`) by Rudi Hurzlmeier; (C) Rudi Hurzlmeier / Bildrecht, Wien, 2014. Photo provided by Karikaturmuseum Krems on occasion of the exhibition 'Sagenhaft und Komisch - Rudi Hurzlmeier' which is on view until 22 February 2015.

Cartoonist and painter Rudi Hurzlmeier at Karikaturmuseum Krems, 10 January 2015

Caricature in the painting style of Renaissance & Baroque masters

Until 22 February 2015, the Austrian Karikaturmuseum in Krems presents around 30 erotic, humorous works from Rudi Hurzlmeier's series 'Meisterwerke der goldigen Periode' (master pieces of the golden/cute period) under the title 'Sagenhaft und Komisch' which could be translated as ''Fabulous and Comic'. For the series, the German artist (born 1952 in Bavaria) used techniques and themes of historical paintings and satirizes them and/or current news such as football games - which is relatively rare for caricatures. The image on view on this page looks like a football player in action taken from Michelangelo's famous 'Last Judgement'. Rudi Hurzlmeier's paintings seduce the viewers into a forbidden world of lust - similar as the masters did hundreds of years before; only that Hurzlmeier adds time-critical humour to the art satires.

Since the 1980s, Rudi Hurzlmeier creates comics, cartoons and caricatures for books, TV, newspapers and magazines such as FAZ, Die Zeit, Spiegel Online or Penthouse as well as satirical magazines like Eulenspiegel. He is two-time winner of the German caricature prize, the 'Deutschen Karikaturenpreis'.

Rudi Hurzlmeier says in the preface of his book 'Meisterwerke der goldigen Periode' (published via Lappan Art Verlag) that the nude portrait is a statement against the foolishness "...because clothing is quickly out of fashion and appears then terribly ridiculous (compare the 80ies, Baroque, Stone Age)." (original text: "...denn Kleidung kommt schnell aus der Mode und wirkt dann schrecklich lächerlich (vgl. Achtzigerjahre, Barock, Steinzeit)."


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