Colosseum and Arch of Constantine

One of Austria’s leading exponents of Expressionism, Oskar Kokoschka was a prolific draftsman and printmaker whose vigorous drawing technique reinforces the emotional aspects of his subjects. Kokoschka considered sketching and drawing elemental to his expression, filling countless sketchbooks with rapidly executed depictions. Despite its modest scale, this lively colored pencil drawing exemplifies the immediacy and vitality of his graphic technique. Kokoschka’s fluid, gestural line captures fleeting impressions of form, color, and light, conveying a highly personal interpretation of two of Rome’s most famous antique monuments, the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine. Probably drawn from direct observation, this drawing is a souvenir of Kokoschka’s 1949 visit to the Italian capital. He later inscribed it with a personal dedication and gave it to a young Minneapolis friend of his, Russell Cowles.