Michael Drobil

Michael Drobil was an associate of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, as they became friends during their days together in a POW camp in Italy in World War I. Drobil then worked for Hermine Wittgenstein, Ludwig’s wealthy sister. Drobil was a painter, drawer and sculptor.

After a sculpture apprenticeship he studied until 1905 at the Wien (Vienna) Art Academy. On a scholarship he spent a year in Italy. He then worked in Wien until World War I. From 1920 he was a member of the Vienna Secession, from 1939 of the Künstlerhaus. In 1931 he was appointed as a professor. As a representative of the Vienna School of Sculpture, he focused mainly on Classicism and Renaissance and worked mainly in stone, but also in bronze. During World War II he also designed monuments on behalf of the Nazis. In 1952 he was represented in the Helsinki art exhibition with the bronze statue of an Athlete.