Broncia Koller-Pinell: Rediscovering a Forgotten Austrian Modernist
Broncia Koller-Pinell, originally named Bronislawa Pineles, was born in 1863 in Sanok, Poland. She relocated to Vienna with her family, who adopted the surname Pinell. Despite the restriction on women attending the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna until 1920, she studied under sculptor Josef Raab and painter Alois Delug. Koller-Pinell became a member of the Vienna Secession, working alongside Gustav Klimt and Heinrich Schröder. In 2019, her artwork was part of the Belvedere Museum's exhibition City of Women, curated by Sabine Fellner. Married to Catholic physician Hugo Koller, she preserved her Jewish faith. Koller-Pinell passed away in 1934, and her legacy faded after the Nazis' rise to power in 1938. Art historian Katharina Cichosh highlighted her eclectic influences and nonconformity to specific artistic movements.
Key facts
- Broncia Koller-Pinell was born Bronislawa Pineles in 1863 in Sanok, now part of Poland.
- She moved to Vienna with her upper-middle-class family, who changed their surname to Pinell.
- She studied under sculptor Josef Raab and painter Alois Delug.
- Women were not allowed into the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna until after 1920.
- She was accepted into the Vienna Secession and worked alongside Gustav Klimt and Heinrich Schröder.
- In 2019, her work was included in the exhibition City of Women at Vienna's Belvedere Museum, curated by Sabine Fellner.
- She married Catholic physician and physicist Hugo Koller against her family's wishes and raised two children in the Catholic faith while maintaining her Jewish beliefs.
- She died in 1934, about four years before the Nazis came to power in Austria; her work was likely forgotten after the 1938 takeover due to Nazi classification of Jewish art as degenerate.
Entities
Artists
- Broncia Koller-Pinell
- Josef Raab
- Alois Delug
- Gustav Klimt
- Heinrich Schröder
- Hugo Koller
- Katharina Cichosh
- Sabine Fellner
- PJ Grisar
Institutions
- Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
- Vienna Secession
- Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
- Leopold Museum
- Schirn Magazine
- Forward
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Sanok
- Poland
- Vienna
- Austria