Hermann Burghart Explained

Hermann Burghart (7 April 1834, Türmitz – 23 January 1901, Vienna) was a Bohemian-born Austrian scenic designer and set decorator.

Life and work

Burghart studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. In 1866, he was engaged as a set designer and decorative painter at the Vienna State Opera.

Later that same year, he was taken on as a partner at the theater decorating studio belonging to Carlo Brioschi and Johann Kautsky.^[1] The studio was subsequently named "Brioschi, Burghart und Kautsky, k.u.k. Hoftheatermaler in Wien". It employed dozens of carpenters and mechanics in addition to its artists. These included, at various times, Georg Janny,, Franz Poledne,, Ferdinand Brunner and Alfons Mucha. They fulfilled orders throughout Germany and abroad. One of their regular customers was the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Notably, they provided sets for the Viennese premiere of Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner.

He also taught painting at his alma mater, the Vienna Academy. The illustrator and architectural painter, was one of his most prominent students.

Further reading

• Robin Thurlow Lacy, "Burghart, Hermann", in: A biographical dictionary of scenographers. 500 B.C. to 1900 A.D., Greenwood Press, 1990, pg.94
• Rudolf Schmidt, "Burghart, Hermann", in: Österreichisches Künstlerlexikon. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, Vol.3, Tusch, 1974, pg.282
• Hans Vollmer: "Burghart, Hermann". In: Ulrich Thieme (Ed.): Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Vol.5: Brewer–Carlingen. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1911, pg.251 (Online)

Notes and References

1. Bořivoj Srba, Der Bühnenbildner Jan Václav Kautský und seine Arbeit für die tschechische Bühne, Masarykova univerzita v Brně,, 1993 (Online)