Franz von Zülow - Buy or sell works
15 March 1883, Vienna (Austria) - 26 February 1963, Vienna (Austria)
Franz von Zülow achieved global fame as an Austrian painter, graphic artist and craftsman. He is the inventor of paper cut printing, which he patented in 1907. Besides a particular gift for applied arts, he also created numerous children’s books, artwork for calendars, murals and carpets. Many of his designs for wallpaper and fabrics, as well as painted furniture and other decorated household items, have also remained preserved as well.
Born 1883 in Vienna, Zülow completed an apprenticeship as an illustrator at the Graphic Teaching and Testing Institute in Vienna between 1901 and 1903. He also attended courses at the Academy of Fine Arts for a short period, where he learnt the art of drawing from Christian Griepenkerl. He went on to study under Kolo Moser and Carl Otto Czeschka at the Arts and Crafts School. Zülow joined the Vienna Secession in 1908. He was soon noticed for his talent and was awarded a Liechtenstein fellowship to travel western Europe in 1912.
Zülow served in the military during the First World War and was taken as a prisoner by the Italians. He returned fit and well in 1920 and worked from then on as a teacher in the Ceramic Workshops in Gmunden and at the Linz Art School. He commuted between Vienna and Hirschbach in Mühlkreis from 1922 onward, and also used this period to embark on numerous trips throughout Europe.
His work is inspired by the artistic concepts established by the Vienna Secession and the Vienna Workshops. He took great pleasure in applied art, and versatility is among the distinctive features of his oeuvre. Nevertheless, his work focuses on graphic reproduction, which he used for creative experiments. Franz von Zülow received the Austrian State Prize on three occasions.
While most of his works are influenced by Art Nouveau, folkloristic styles are frequently evident in many of his decorative pieces. He preferred motifs like landscapes, religion and farm life, although he also had a deep appreciation of fairy tale and exotic scenes. His application of colour was always expressive, lending his pictures an enduringly unique quality.