Herbert von Reyl

Herbert von Reyl’s father was an officer in the Army, which allowed Herbert to travel the world, including through the cities of Krakow and Praha, where he was inspired artistically. In his youth he experienced the break-up of the Danube Monarchy, to which he felt connected by his upbringing and origin. In 1916, Reyl-Hanisch served in the artillery of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but, due to a bad lung condition, he was exempted from further military service. After his father was killed in action during World War I, Herbert von Reyl-Hanisch studied in Wien (Vienna) at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1917, and became a member of the Wiener Secession. In 1934 he moved from Wien to Bregenz and became a member of the conservative artists’ association “Alte Welt”.

Von Reyl quickly rebelled against the establishment and the Nazis. He regarded industrialization as a kind of destruction of the human and also a promotion of aggression. Von Reyl mainly painted landscapes and portraits, and illustrated books and was also active as a writer. His style was considered a mix of New Objectivity and Magic Realism. He combined neo-romantic influences with a critique of civilization; his portrayals of workers were particularly numerous. In 1937 he died of severe hemoptysis (coughing up blood).

The oil painting The Youth Champion, painted in 1936, was also published as a Third Reich postcard. It shows Reyl’s nephew Bernhard Matt (1920-1976), who was to become a local officer of the Hitler Youth.