Rudolf Böttger

Rudolf Böttger was born in Bohemia and is listed in many sources on the art scene as a German, but he studied in Wien (Vienna) and München, and spent most of his life in Austria. In 1919 he joined the Artists Union in Wien. In World War I, he served as a war volunteer and war painter. Later, he spent most of his summers in his native town of Tachov (in German Tachau). As a staunch Nazi, he took over leading functions in art and culture after the Austrian Anschluss. In 1936 he was appointed professor and in 1957 received the State Prize, the Golden Laurel of the Vienna Künstlerhaus.

In 1939, an article was published in the Nazi-newspaper “Völkischer Beobachter” titled “Painter of the Ostmark. Rudolf Böttger”, in which the works submitted for the Olympic Games were mentioned: “The result is a large painting created for the last Olympic Games: The Javelin Throwers, and the Sports Portfolio, in which the many artistic opportunities offered by sport in its various forms of expression have found a captivating form.” At the Berlin Games, the painter met the Hamburg based entrepreneur August Brinkmann, who bought the oil painting The Javelin Throwers. The Sports Portfolio consisted of 16 lithographs in the format 50 x 36 cm.

In 1944 his apartment and studio in Wien (Vienna) were destroyed. After World War II he first lived in Deggendorf, then later in Regensburg (both FRG). He created a series of portraits of important personalities and painted landscapes, interiors and figurative compositions.