Maximilian Pirner

{{Infobox artist

| honorific_prefix =

| name =

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Maxmilian Pirner (ca 1880).jpg

| caption = Pirner in {{circa|1880}}

| birth_name = Maxmilián Pirner

| birth_date = {{birth date|1854|2|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = Sušice, Bohemia, Austrian Empire

| death_date = {{death date and age|1924|4|2|1853|2|13|df=y}}

| death_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality = Czech

| education =

| alma_mater = Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

| known_for =

| notable_works = Sleepwalker

| style =

| movement = Vienna Secession

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| parents =

| father =

| mother =

| relatives =

| family =

| awards =

| signature = Pirner Maxmilián - signatura.jpg

| signature_type =

| signature_size =

| signature_alt =

| elected =

| patrons =

| memorials =

| module =

}}

Maximilian Pirner ({{langx|cs|Maxmilián Pirner}}; 13 February 1854 – 2 April 1924) was a Czech painter. He was a member of the Vienna Secession,Howard, Jeremy. Art Nouveau: International and National Styles in Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996, p. 83.Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Stefania; Mizia, Piotr. "'Sztuka', 'Wiener Secession', 'Mánes'. The Central European Art Triangle." Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 27, No. 53, pp. 217, 221 (2006). and associated with the Mánes Union of Fine Arts.Howard, Jeremy. Art Nouveau: International and National Styles in Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996, p. 83.

Life and work

Pirner was born on 13 February 1854 in Sušice.Blažíčková-Horová, Naděžda, et al. 19th-century Art: National Gallery in Prague. Prague: National Gallery, 2002. He was enrolled from 1872 to 1874 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague and from 1875 to 1879 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, where he studied with his countryman, Josef Matyáš Trenkwald. He remained in Vienna until 1887, although he was not an active participant in the local artistic community. At that time, he became a teacher at the Academy in Prague and was named a Professor there in 1896.

Pirner's usual themes were classical mythology (such as his Medusa (1891) and Hecate (or Hekate; 1901)) and the macabre (such as Sleepwalker (or Girl in Her Nightie Walks on the Window-Ledge; 1878), Daemon Love (1893), and Allegory of Death (1895)). Pirner completed a number of sketches of female figures, many of them nudes. He also did stained glass windows and medals.

Described by one critic as having achieved "mastery of the sinuous line".Sillevis, John. "Czech Art 1878–1914. Darmstadt." The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 127, No. 983, pp. 118, 121 (February 1985). Pirner also had his detractors. One contemporary critic, while acknowledging Pirner's talent, considered him an "over-sophisticated

mystic."Holme, Charles, ed. The Art Revival in Austria. London: Offices of 'The Studio,' 1906, p. A xii. ([https://archive.org/stream/artrevivalinaust00holmuoft/artrevivalinaust00holmuoft_djvu.txt full text from archive.org])

He died on 2 April 1924 in Prague.