The Irvine Museum Shows Porcelains & Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff

Written by Charles Montgomerie Sunday, 12 February 2012 00:34

Irvine, California.- The Irvine Museum is proud to present "Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains & Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff" on view at the museum through March 8th. The work of Franz A. Bischoff (1864-1929), both in porcelain and easel paintings reflects the highest standards of American art. Furthermore, those works that focus on landscapes encapsulate the unique qualities of California Impressionism by combining great beauty with historical significance and, most of all, a deep reverence for nature. This exhibition was organized and toured by the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Recognized during his career for use of color and vivid composition, his paintings always displayed reverence for nature. One critic commented that some of his later works flirted with Expressionism and his use of colors were reminiscent of Fauvism. Franz Bischoff died of heart failure at home in his adopted city of Pasadena, California on February 5, 1929.

Franz A. Bischoff (January 14, 1864-February 5, 1929) was an American artist known primarily for his beautiful China painting, floral paintings and California landscapes. He was born in Steinschönau, Austria (now known as Kamenický Šenov in the Czech Republic) on January 14, 1864. He immigrated to the United States as a teenager where he became a naturalized citizen. While in Europe, his early training was focused upon applied design, watercolor and ceramic decorations. After arriving in the United States, Bischoff worked in New York, Fostoria, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan and Dearborn, Michigan. While in Detroit and Dearborn, he gained success as a painter of porcelain, and as a teacher of the techniques, as well as a manufacturer of ceramic glazes as well as a teacher of watercolor painting. Franz Bischoff decided to visit California in 1900 and ultimately chose to settle in the Los Angeles area in 1906. Shortly after arriving, he started making arrangements to design and build a large Italian Renaissance style home in Pasadena that also became his studio. This landmark home was completed in 1908. Bischoff was one of the earliest members of the California Art Club, and the group's second meeting was held at his studio on February 5, 1910. Also present at that meeting were Carl Oscar Borg and William Wendt. Inspired by the California countryside, Bischoff attempted to capture the area's brilliant light and diverse landscapes. Spending less time with ceramic painting following the start of World War I, Bischoff took up canvas painting. He painted local farms, fishing wharfs, coastal landscapes and scenes of the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of Utah, including Zion National Park.


Opened in January 1993 and dedicated to the preservation and display of California art of the Impressionist Period (1890-1930), the Irvine Museum is embracing a principal role in the education and furtherance of this beautiful and important regional variant of American Impressionism that has come to be associated with California and its remarkable landscape. The Irvine Museum invites you to share this experience and to enjoy the splendor and power of art as it relates directly to our beloved California. Much of what originally made California a "Golden Land" was directly linked to the environment, especially the land and water that nurtured and sustained a rare quality of life. Over a hundred years ago, the splendor of nature fascinated artists and compelled them to paint beautiful paintings. As we view these rare and remarkable paintings, we are returned, all too briefly, to a time long ago when the land and its bounty were open and almost limitless. Today, with the renaissance of the glorification of nature in art, that spirit is motivating enlightened people in the same way it energized artists of the past. The common bond is the deep reverence for nature and the common goal is to preserve our environment, and no statement is more eloquent than the silent testament of these magnificent paintings. Each generation, in its turn, is the steward of the land, water and air. The Museum itself is housed in a lovely hacienda style building, reminiscent of the Golden Land's early days. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.irvinemuseum.org

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