(Grodnau 1925–2013 Moncarapacho, Portugal)
Schlaining seen from Neustift, c. 1954, oil on cardboard, 49 x 64 cm, framed, (K)

Provenance:
Private Ownership, Vienna – acquired directly from the artist
… In 1946 I graduated from secondary school. I did not pass the entrance examination to the Academy of Fine Arts. The reason given was: lack of talent. Instead, I studied history and German literature. After four and a half years I took the exam required to qualify as a teacher and did my probationary year at a secondary school, but did not apply for a teaching job afterwards. I again took the entrance exam to the Academy of Fine Arts. I made it by a hair’s breadth and was accepted with reservation. After five years at the Academy, I was called to the headmaster’s office. I was asked why I had not taken a single exam in all those years. “My teacher’s exams in German literature and history perfectly suffice for me!” I replied. “But studying anatomy would have been important,” the official said. “Van Gogh never studied anatomy!” I said. And he yelled: “How can you compare yourself with Van Gogh!”

Otto Muehl, 2004, Otto Muehl, MAK, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2004