A permanent exhibition space for the paintings
and drawings by Karl Stengel, situated in the Renaissance building, Palazzo
Gozzari, in Arezzo.
Karl Stengel has lived
through important and dramatic periods in the history of 20th century art. Born in 1925 in Neusatz, on the banks of the
Danube, in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from his early childhood he had the impulse to
“have to” draw and was strongly attracted by the contrast of black and white. After the war and the years in the Russian
prison camp, a long time passed before a middle class child could be admitted
to an art academy. It was the period of Socialist Realism, a style imposed by
the Soviet Communist Party. There was no room for artistic individualism, or to
seek one’s own possibilities, expressive style, or creativity. Upon the arrival
of the Soviet tanks with the occupation of Hungary in 1956, Karl Stengel fled to Monaco in Germany. Studying at the Akademie der Schönen Künste, he was
surprised - and not in a positive way - by the lightness with which his young
colleagues took to abstract modernism, especially after the dominant artistic
expression extorted by Hitler. Again, he could not see the way to follow his
path with sincerity. He was unable to follow his impulse “to have to paint” for
almost two decades. Then the strong call of the voices that wanted to be
expressed and painted, resurfaced, together with the desire to see and hear
what others hadn’t seen, even if it was in front of them.
Collezione Karl Stengel - Via Cavour 121 Arezzo.
Opening times: Monday,
Wednesday, Saturday from 4pm-6pm
Every first Sunday of
the month from 10am-12noon
To book a visit,
please call: +39 3347944736