15/11/2025
William Nii Nortey Dowuona
Franz von Matsh
A black figure wears a piece of cloth in a toga-like fashion, draped over his left shoulder and leaving the right one bare. Set against a simple clay-green background, he lacks contextual markers.
Austrian painter Franz von Matsch (1861-1942), was active in Vienna from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Reflecting an era when Black representation in European art expanded alongside migration from Africa and Haiti, such works broke away from prevailing stereotypes.
In the 1870s, Franz von Matsch trained alongside Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst at Vienna’s School of Applied Arts, all steeped in conservative academic traditions. After their studies, in 1883, the trio collaborated on public commissions until Gustav Klimt distanced himself from the traditional painting style. Favouring artistic innovation, Klimt’s art underwent a major shift in 1895, and two years later, he co-founded the Vienna Secession, one of the most avant-garde movements of the time.
Despite their diverging paths, Klimt and Matsch appear to have maintained a close relationship, as evidenced by their joint portrayal of the man in a toga. This enigmatic sitter is also the subject of one of Klimt’s paintings, which depicts him in three-quarter view. The portrait itself is shrouded in mystery, having last been seen in public at a 1928 retrospective marking the 10th anniversary of Klimt’s death.
