Richard Geiger

{{Short description|Austrian painter of Jewish descent (1870–1945)}}

{{Infobox artist

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Richard Geiger

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| image = Richard Geiger self portrait.jpg

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| caption = Geiger

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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1870|06|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Vienna, Austria-Hungary{{Cite web |title=Geiger, Richard 1872–1945 |url=https://viaf.org/viaf/121377804/#Geiger,_Richard_1872-1945 |website=viaf.org |quote=In some publications the year 1872 is mentioned as Geiger's year of birth}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|02|09|1870|06|29|df=y}}

| death_place = Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary

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Richard Geiger (29 June 1870 – 9 February 1945) was an Austrian painter.

Life and work

Geiger was born in Vienna, into a Hungarian Jewish family. His parents were Antal Geiger and Jozefin Wahringer.{{Cite web |title=Geiger Richárdné halotti bejegyzése a Budapest XVI. kerületi polgári halotti akv. 108/1954. folyószáma alatt |website = FamilySearch|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPBX-9ZCW?i=103 |accessdate= 2019-12-06}} He first attended a drawing school and then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he studied under Christian Griepenkerl and August Eisenmenger. He studied sculpture with Fritz Klimsch at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. There he took part in the exhibitions of the Academy with his portrait busts and sculptures. In Paris he studied at the Julian Academy and worked in the studio of François Flameng. While at the Julian Academy, he focused on painting scenes from the life of the clochards.

From 1893 Geiger worked as a genre painter in Budapest. He worked for the Izidor Kner publishing house in Gyomaendrőd, among others. From 1906 Geiger illustrated twenty Hungarian editions of the works of Karl May for the Budapest Athenaeum publishing house. He produced a total of 104 autotypes.{{Cite book |last1=Hermesmeier |first1=Wolfgang |title=Karl-May-Bibliografie 1913–1945 |last2=Schmatz |first2=Stefan |publisher=Bamberg-Radebeul |year=2000 |isbn=3-7802-0157-7}} During World War I he worked as an illustrator for the Hungarian weekly Tolnai Világlapja. In the 1920s he illustrated a large number of books{{Cite book |url=http://nektar1.oszk.hu/LVbin/LibriVision/lv_view_records.html |title=Geiger Richard |publisher=National Széchényi Library |location=Budapest}} and produced numerous portraits of Pierrette (the female version of a Pierrot).{{Cite web |date= 2016-10-26 |title=Objekte vom 26. Oktober 2016: Raritäten, Kunst oder Nippes |url=https://www.zdf.de/show/bares-fuer-rares/objekte-vom-26-oktober-2016-100.html |website=Bares für Rares |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203181812/https://www.zdf.de/show/bares-fuer-rares/objekte-vom-26-oktober-2016-100.html |archive-date= 2016-12-03 |language=de |quote=Aquarell von Richard Geiger}} He won several prizes in graphic competitions{{Cite book |last=Seregélyi |first=György |title=Magyar festők és grafikusok adattára |year=1988 |isbn=963-500-817-1 |location=Szeged |language=hu |trans-title=Database of Hungarian Painters and Graphic Artists}} and took part in exhibitions in France, Germany and Hungary.{{Cite book |last=Lubek |first=Pierre |year=2016 |title=Moments sauvés. Vagabondage de A à Z dans le théâtre de ma mémoire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXaLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 |page=232 |language=fr |isbn=978-2-322-09491-2}}

Initially he worked for a Hungarian weekly magazine. By the 1920s, he worked illustrating books, bookplates and posters. His paintings included portraits, nudes, genre paintings, and mythological scenes, but he was known for his illustrations, especially his carnival motifs.{{Cite book |last=Hans Hinkel |title=Judenviertel Europas: Die Juden zwischen Ostsee und Schwarzen Meer |publisher=Volk und Reich Verlag |year=1939 |trans-title=Jew Quarter of Europe}}

Selected works

A világ történelme (Endrei) with {{ill|Endrei Zalán|hu}}
Sich räkelnde, rauchende Dame mit Akkordeonspieler im Wirtshaus{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/sich-r%C3%A4kelnde-rauchende-dame-mit-akkordeonspieler-b-1oLK4ZNYlZw__Tm5UQ-w2 | work = Artnet | title = Sich räkelnde, rauchende Dame mit Akkordeonspieler im Wirtshaus}}
Sängerin mit Bandoneonspieler in einem Wirtshaus{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/s%C3%A4ngerin-mit-bandoneonspieler-in-einem-wirtshaus-hqSRdk62oaI5p0ZoKmjrmg2 | work = Artnet | title = Sängerin mit Bandoneonspieler in einem Wirtshaus}}
Colombine mit Pierrot und Harlekin{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/colombine-mit-pierrot-und-harlekin-h2gDGigFKYEarwG771xYTA2 | work = Artnet | title = Colombine mit Pierrot und Harlekin}}
Varietémusikerin mit Gitarre{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/variet%C3%A9musikerin-mit-gitarre-pv2zMFcrL5-wbBhe_Fijww2 | work = Artnet | title = Varietémusikerin mit Gitarre}}
Zigeunerin mit Tamburin{{cite web| url = https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/The-tambourine-girl/5EB8E44C288AB43F | work = Artnet | title = Zigeunerin mit Tamburin}}
Haremsdame mit Papagei{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/haremsdame-mit-papagei-mxZhwI8jQupfWcZ40vDW-Q2 | work = Artnet | title = Haremsdame mit Papagei}}
Südländische Schönheit{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.de/k%C3%BCnstler/richard-geiger/s%C3%BCdl%C3%A4ndische-sch%C3%B6nheit-NKcreIyCwEyQvBu-CRDu5g2 | work = Artnet | title = Südländische Schönheit}}
Harlekinek{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/harlekin-792cCUKSjvOXslm2WXFFgg2 | work = Artnet | title = Harlekinek}}
Sérénade{{cite web| url = http://www.artnet.com/artists/richard-geiger/the-serenade-72DUiAGNhrreByR67uoc8g2 | work = Artnet | title = Sérénade}}