Leopold Blauensteiner

In addition he took private lessons from Alfred Roller, who ran the magazine of the newly formed Vienna Secession, Ver Sacrum, which in 1903 and 1904 printed some coloured woodcuts by Blauensteiner.

In the First World War he joined the Uhlans (Lancers), leaving in 1916 with the rank of First Lieutenant.

In 1929 for his painting Funeralien ("Funeral Rites at Melk Abbey") he won a scholarship for a year's study in Italy, where he stayed until 1930.

In 1939, he reactivated his membership in the Nazi Party and was appointed National Director of the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts (Reichskammer der bildenden Künste) in Vienna.

In 1945 he was arrested on the basis of an accusation by the Russian forces of occupation and was taken before the Vienna Regional Court.

His main works include: Funeralien im Stift Melk ("Funeral Rites at Melk Abbey"), Der tote Sohn ("The Dead Son"), Die Strecke ("The Track"), Symphonie in Blau ("Symphony in Blue"), family pictures and landscapes.

Although he worked primarily as a painter, there also exist design for furniture, ornamental gratings, lanterns and similar things.

Under the direction of Gustav Mahler he designed the fittings of the Vienna State Opera.