Karl Truppe

(Radsberg near Klagenfurt 1887 - Viktring near Klagenfurt 1959)

Karl Truppe was born in Radsberg, south of Klagenfurt, in 1887. A few years later his father, a teacher, was transferred to Viktring as headmaster. There the young Karl found an artistic environment that encouraged his talent for music and painting. At that time, a group of artists was formed in Viktring around the local Moro family, which also included the painters Ludwig and Josef Willroider, Anton Gregoritsch and the two Moro daughters Johanna and Sophie. Inspired by the beauty of the landscape, innumerable sketches were created that later served as a template for his oil paintings.

Karl Truppe studied from 1905 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna with Christian Griepenkerl and Alois Delug. In 1913 he finished his studies with the painting "Farewell", for which he received the Rome Prize in 1914. The picture immediately fell victim to the chaos of war and has been lost to this day. During the First World War he was an officer and war painter, especially on the southern front. In addition to depictions of the war, Truppe also used a lot of feeling to paint pictures of the life of the soldiers at the front, of their daily routines and their breaks. He also created portraits of several generals and one of Kaiser Karl.

In 1918 Karl Truppe settled in Brno, where he founded a family and was the artistic director of the “Society of Friends of Art”. He stayed in Brno until 1937, from where he also made trips to Berlin, Paris, Munich and Italy, where he enriched his skills. When visiting museums and galleries, Truppe was particularly taken with the old Dutch. In 1931 he even traveled to America, where he had been invited by several German art associations and where his painting was received very positively. In Viktring in Carinthia, Karl Truppe bought the house of the painter Anton Gregoritsch, where from then on, he stayed every summer.

In 1938 he was appointed professor at the Dresden Art Academy. In his teaching activities, he placed particular emphasis on imparting the basics of art theory. In Dresden he also met his second wife. His artistic work reached its peak - countless new paintings, drawings and sketches were created. He was soon one of the most sought-after portraitists in Germany but did not neglect landscape painting either.

From 1945 Karl Truppe and his family lived in the house in Viktring all year round and Truppe ran a painting and drawing school there until 1957. In the 1950s he also met his third wife, with whom he spent the rest of his life.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Truppe took part in several exhibitions that served representative and propaganda purposes of the regime at that time. In his early years Karl Truppe was still committed to the landscape impressionism of the Viktring school. Later he only worked in formal perfectionism, apart from all the fashion trends of his time.

In 1959 Karl Truppe died as a result of two strokes.

Karl Truppe's art inspired many people throughout his life, he was considered a gifted painter, a philosopher with a brush and paint, especially when it came to secrets of light. The keen eye with which he tried to capture the movement in form was what distinguished his ability. This contributes significantly to its popularity, which remains unbroken to this day.