Who knows if they come back"
Oscar Wilde
Georg Jung – A Visual Language of Astonishing Relevance
Georg Jung
Salzburg 1899 – 1957 Vienna
The Sleeping Woman
Oil on canvas
88.5 x 99.5 cm
Signed and dated (19)47 in the upper left corner
Georg Jung –
“The Free Spirit Among Salzburg’s Painters”
Some artists become famous for their works; others for their lives. Georg Jung combined both. As the son of the owner of the legendary Grand Hotel de l’Europe in Salzburg, he grew up in a world where international guests, artists, musicians, and intellectuals came together. During the festival season, the hotel was the city’s social hub—a place where culture came to life. This extraordinary atmosphere shaped the young Georg Jung from childhood onward and sparked his passion for art.
It became clear early on that neither a middle-class life nor the role of a hotelier would fulfill him. Although he began studying medicine in Vienna after World War I and attended the life-drawing class at the School of Applied Arts, he acquired his true education through his own efforts and with extraordinary discipline. Through self-study, he developed into one of the most original Austrian painters of his generation.
His early works were still influenced by Expressionism and Cubism, but by the mid-1920s, Georg Jung had already developed a distinctive visual language. As a member of the renowned Hagenbund and later the Vienna Secession, he combined the clarity of New Objectivity with an exceptionally sensitive approach to color.
His landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, and still lifes continue to impress today with their serene composition, poetic atmosphere, and delicate balance between figuration and abstraction.
Georg Jung –
Visionary, modern, and timeless
Rome
Oil on canvas, *
*, 100 x 75 cm, *
*, signed and dated (19)47 in the upper left corner
Nude portraits occupy a special place within his body of work. Far from being provocative, they depict the human body with great naturalness and elegance. Jung was less interested in the narrative aspect than in the interplay of light, color, and form. His figures appear timeless and serene—an expression of an artist who understood beauty as a harmonious balance.
After his father’s death in 1934, Georg Jung returned to Salzburg to take over management of the Grand Hotel de l’Europe. Although the responsibility of running the family business, steeped in tradition, demanded his full attention, art remained the center of his life. He redesigned the hotel with frescoes, furniture designs, and decorative works, thereby proving that his creativity extended far beyond the canvas.
The political upheaval of 1938 marked a profound turning point. Under immense pressure, Georg Jung was forced to sell the hotel for far less than its actual value. A few years later, his art was deemed undesirable, and he was banned from exhibiting. Despite these setbacks, he continued to work undeterred and devoted himself ever more intensely to the study of color.
This passion took him far beyond classical painting. Jung explored the scientific foundations of color theory, engaged with the ideas of Wilhelm Ostwald, and ultimately developed the so-called “Colormobile” —a mobile color apparatus whose constantly changing color constellations made him an early pioneer of kinetic art. At the same time, he designed two of the best-known Austrian stamp series of the interwar period and also made a name for himself as a writer.
Contemporaries described Georg Jung as an independent and headstrong individual who was reluctant to follow conventions. He cherished intellectual freedom, sought out exchanges with artists and intellectuals, and viewed art as a lifelong quest for knowledge. His personality is reflected in his work: curious, eager to experiment, and characterized by a deep trust in the expressive power of color.
It was not until many years after his death that Georg Jung’s significance in art history was fully recognized. Today, he is considered one of the most important Salzburg painters of the 20th century. His works are held in major public and private collections and are regularly traded on the international art market. In particular, his Venetian views, Salzburg cityscapes, expressive portraits, and sensitive nude depictions make him one of the most fascinating artistic figures of Austrian modernism.
Lovers in Front of the Window
Oil on canvas
, 75.5 x 100.5 cm
, Signed and dated (19)48 in the upper right corner
Georg Jung left behind far more than just his body of paintings. He left behind the image of a man who had the courage to forge his own path—independent, creative, and in many ways ahead of his time.
Georg Jung –
Timeless Painting with Extraordinary Modernity
Sculptures
Publications
LEONTINE VON LITTROW
Trieste 1856 - 1925 Abbazia
Comprehensive overview of the complete works of a “master of light” who has fallen into oblivion. The complete work is now available for purchase through our gallery.
JOSEF STOITZNER
Vienna 1884 - 1951 Bramberg im Pinzgau
Wou, dear lovers and collectors of Josef Stoitzner, the catalog raisonné of Josef Stoitzner is now available for purchase through our gallery. It contains 600 pages with over 1400 illustrations.
We buy quality paintings and sculptures and antiques of all periods (antiquity to the present).
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