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KRENZ Alfred (Frederic), 'Lantern', Sep. 19601899 --. b Vienna. STUDIED. 1915-16: Kunstgewerbeschule, Vienna, under Franz Cizek and Oskar Stmad. 1922-26: Acad of Fine Arts, Vienna (won the Prix de Rome). 1929-31 : Amédée Ozenfant's Acad, Paris. SUMMARY BIOGRAPHY. The son of an architect. His precocious ability confirmed by the award of the Prix de Rome. Exhibited widely in Europe. Worked in Vienna, participated in Secession Exhibs until Hitler's occupation of Austria in 1938; then moved to Holland. Married to sister of Mrs F.C.L. Bosman of Pretoria; his first SA exhib organized in CT long before he emigrated from Holland. 1949: settled in Cape 'Town; founded a school of art. Continued to exhibit widely in Europe. 1954: visited the Americas. 1958: awarded honorary title of Professor by Austrian Government. 1967: awarded Medal of Honour for painting by SA Akademie. EXHIBITIONS. 1928: first one-man exhib, Vienna. 1938: first SA exhib, CT, sent from abroad. 1950: first SA exhib as resident. 1952: van Riebeeck Tercent Exhib CT. 1953: Rhodes Cent Exhib, Bulawayo. 1954: Venice Bien. 1956: First Quad of SA Art. 1960: Second Quad of SA Art. 1961: Sao Paulo Bien. 1963: Sao Paulo Bien. 1964: Third Quad of SA Art. 1966: Rep Fest Exhib, Pta. PUBLIC COLLECTIONS. Several European Gals. SA Nat Gal, CT; Jhb Art Gal; William Humphreys Gal, Kmbly; Hester Rupert Mus, G.R; Rembrandt Foundtn; Schlesinger Org. Alfred KRENZ arrived in SA in 1949 with a broad and colourful painting style which contained more than a suggestion of the influence of Gauguin. Particularly redolent of the Tahiti master was his palette - loaded with deep tropical greens, mauves, pinks and oranges. Though he has been credited with capturing the essence of the SA landscape in these saturated hues, his effects arc more romantic than the local scene, the atmosphere more humid than the scorching sunlight will allow. The rich harmonies and the planimetric design deriving from Gauguin resulted in bright and decorative rendering of indigenous figure-groups and landscape, e.g. Flowering Desert; but the years in Paris revealed themselves in Krenz's handling of still-life and portraiture. Here a tendency toward abstraction made its first appearance in the geometry of composition, the definition of planes and the rhythms created by reflected colour. The dualism of decorative realism and analytical abstraction has persisted in his work, but his landscape-style has undergone a greater transformation than his genre-painting. The deep blues and greens have been retained - though the more florid hues have left his palette. The scenes have, however, been increasingly subjected to the operation of formal structural principles; nature's curves have been replaced by rectangular zones and visual appearances have slowly been absorbed into the overall abstract design. The object, which was always boldly stated in Krenz's earlier compositions, had forfeited most of its significance in his landscapes after the mid-1960s, but a consciousness of three-dimensional plastic form continued to be manifested in his portraits, while the flowerpieces allowed him scope for decorative extravagance. The most distinctive feature of Krenz's painting is the individual colour range; this is followed closely by his broad method of applying paint, usually with a palette-knife. Largeness of composition and absence of particularising details further identify his style. Like so many other SA artists, he cannot easily be classified in terms of any particular school or movement, but he is specifically a painter, who conceives his themes in colour and for whom line provides only the accents and the definition for the total painterly conception.
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KRENZ, Alfred, Who's Who in Austria, 1964KRENZ, Alfred, Painter, Prof. h. c.; b. 3 May 1899, Vienna; Educ.: Acad. of Fine Arts, Vienna; Prix de Rome 1926; Career: journeys to Italy, France and Switzerland, returned to Vienna, 1932; regular participant in exhibitions, 'Wiener Secession' and 'Künstlerhaus'; moved to Holland after National Socialist occupation of Austria; participation in national exhibition of contemporary Dutch Art, Reijksmuseum and exhibition in private galleries, Amsterdam, 1939; further exhibitions 1947 end 1948; emigration to South Africa (Cape Town); artistic activity and various exhibitions in South Africa; Biennale Venice, 1954; Sao Paulo 1958; etc.; head of art school, establishment of own art school, Rondebosch, 1953; external examiner for Fine Arts, Univ. Cape Town; journeys to Caribbean Islands; Venezuela and USA, 1954; commissioned to paint Stations of the Cross for new church of Southfield, Cape Province, 1956; journey to Europe (Greece, Holland, Austria and Italy); invitation to exhibit, Salzburg during Festival; Founder of the Krenz School of Arts Rondebosch, Cape Town; Memb.: Dutch Artists' Federation; founding memb., National Council of Arts of South Africa; founding memb., Assoc. of Religious Art Pro Deo in South Africa; A. Victoria House, Belmont Road, Rondebosch, Cape South Africa; T. 69 48 15. (extract from WHO'S WHO IN AUSTRIA, 5th Edition, A Biographical Dictionary containing about 4000 biographies of prominent personalities from and in Austria. Edited by R. Bohmann and Dr. Stephen S. Taylor, 1964. Published by Intercontinental, Book and Publishing Co., Ltd., Austrian Publisher: Dipl.-Ing. Rudolf Bohman, Industrie- Und Fachverlag, Vienna).
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The Colourful Palette of Alfred Krenz, Ellen Davis-Mesman, Cape Town, 1998From the beginning of his painting career people have commented on Krenz's ability to capture the feeling of a landscape and to adapt the different colour values of other countries. Thus the grey tints of Paris, the warm southern colours of Lake Garda, the moist, cold atmosphere of a seascape in the Netherlands and subsequent landscapes in other parts of the world, show his acute powers of observation and response to the character of a landscape. He does not copy, he registers and with a keen eye he interprets and seeks to depict the essence of the landscape before him.
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Intense Inward Pleasure In Krenz Work, Eldred Green, The Cape Argus, 11 Sep. 1970PROF. ALFRED KRENZ, a painter who is robust, sensitive and versatile, is showing paintings and drawings in the Artists' Gallery,Adderley Street. An extrovert in his general, choices and treatment of subjects, he nevertheless shows intense inward pleasure in the way he puts paint on and composes his individual works,: for here is a hedonist painting with skill. Some of these touches are small, as in the flag in No. 10, 'St.Nazare Beach, Portugal,' and the cliffs, which set off the prows of the boats lower down. The same pleasure in creation is to be seen in N0. 2, 'Dark Forest',where the motifs are introduced from the left hand side and then virtually played with, as the shapes and colours are played with in No. 9, 'Spring Morning,' One should be happy that there are still hedonists about to say that they enjoy the colours of spring. Perhaps the most impressive picture because it introduces an emotion. extraneous to pure painting is No. 3, 'Sub-Continent.'. Here Krenz, in taking the aerial view, shows his sensitivity, to this aspect of landscape, nothing really new at present exerting much influence on the sensitive. ABSTRACT QUALITY An. abstract quality which characterises his composition is to be seen in No. 5, 'Ein Karem Israel,' with the blue wall broken against various greys, and the interesting version of the same subject in silkscreen. The portraits, especially those of Opperman and Helen West, are what one has learnt to expect from this painter and serve to keep alive during a period of decline an important branch of painting, which may yet undergo a revival with increasing interest in the human personality. Alfred Krenz is usually extremely complex in his use of colour and some of his success is due to his ability to draw the last drop of effect through complexity. NEW WAY In black and white he can be very simple to considerable effect, as in the pen-drawing 'Vineyard,' an arrangement that would never grow stale to the eye. Somehow, it contains more of the essence of Krenz that No. 8, 'Still Life with Oalabash,' an example of his new way of looking at the material world.
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Tribute to City Artist, Stefanie Potgieter, The Cape Times, Thursday, Oct. 9 1970THE South African Association of Arts (Northern Transvaal) has mounted a prestige exhibition of the works of Alfred Krenz in the main gallery on Church Square, Pretoria, to honour this distinguished artist from the Cape. The exhibition was opened by Mr. Justice J. F. Marais on Monday. This is the second prestige exhibition presented by the South African Association of Arts. It is a sequel to last year's exhibition of the latest works of Bettie Cilliers-Barnard. Krenz's paintings reflect a rich variety of themes and media. He prefers watercolours and pastel, but his first love is oil which happens to be the most difficult and challenging medium and also the most rewarding, as far as Krenz is concerned. He explains his preference with a comparison drawn from the world of music. Watercolour is the delicate violin, pastel is chamber music and oil the full orchestra in all its glory. Krenz paints still lifes, landscapes and portraits, depending on his mood. His portraits are undoubtedly his best works as he not only achieves a remarkable resemblance on canvas but captures and reveals his subject's personality and inner qualities. His portraits of Dr. Elsie Hall, C. J. Greshoff and Professor martin Versveld, to mention just a few, count among his best works. Today Krenz is rated as one of South Africa's greatest portrait painters. Krenz has received great acclaim from art critics and art lovers in South Africa and abroad. In 1958 the Austrian Government conferred an honorary professorship on him when he attended the Salzburg Festival. South Africa recognized his significant contribution to art when he was awarded an honorary medal for painting by South African Academy for Science and Art in 1967. Meanwhile Alfred Krenz continues working at the task he set himself when he founded the Free Academy in Rondebosch: To further the cause of South African Art and to help build up this country's culture.
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