VIENNA (AP) – Austrian painter Ernst Fuchs, whose works combined a love of color with clear lines and religious themes, died on Monday. He was 85.
Tillmann Fuchs, the artist’s son, said his father died but didn’t give any details about the cause of death.
Primarily known for his vivid paintings, Fuchs was also an internationally recognized sculptor, stage designer and print maker who also composed music and wrote poetry.
He was a co-founder of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, which emphasized clarity and details, that some have compared to early Flemish painting, as well as religious and esoteric symbolism.
Influenced in his early life by Gustav Klimt and his contemporaries, Fuchs’ later work emphasized texture as well as color. He revived the traditional mixed technique, using egg tempera to build volume, and glazing it with oil paints mixed with resin to create a sparkling effect.