The currents, which the painting of our century took meanwhile, are not contradictory and non-uniform only, but landed in a confusion, which can be in their poorness and repetition of topic only to sail of one art epoch. Professor Richard W. Eichler speaks of a weak rest and requests against the present art steering element to offer resistance and to fulfil thus a citizen obligation in a free country. This request Herbert Smagon follows for years. It concerns a man matured by various fate, who became 1927 in the part of ‘Schlesien’ belonging to the ‘Sudetenland’ born and already with twelve years private pupils of a well-known painter.
Its first public exhibition took place with fourteen years. Already with sixteen years it was accepted to the academy of the forming arts to Vienna and with seventeen years lent to it the city Vienna the for the first time donated youth art medal. (exhibition of its works in the Viennese yard castle.)
1945 he was homeland-driven out, whereby all fell its past work the inferno. It began was allowed not to remain again in Stuttgart and, after it had escaped from American war shank, also in Austria and for the second time was not driven out.
First it was active as commercial artists in the advertisement and to a specialist on that areas of the international scene later developed. It illustrated a number of books, was repeated successful sceneries sketched and on the sector of the poster nature. Gradually it could turn again to its actual activity and created themselves a number of large sized pictures, which betrayed a pronounced artistic style in the sense of a remeditation to the beauty of the creation. Its artistic request consists above all of opening also for the beauty of the creation and the observer the eyes and advancing courageously also the term of a sound world again into the consciousness of the art friends.
It
had the courage from the outset oppose the one-sided development of the today
official art scene and refused so far consistently participating in exhibitions
which are dictated of the opinion monopoly. Contradiction to carry out, where
opportunity results, against all decomposition, abnormal one, one-sided one is
its main objective, whereby it is probably aware of his task and responsibility.
The artist develops a rich fantasy with the representation of scenes exactly
worked out. He stresses the reality in
a clear nad natural way and beauty
of life and people are showing strong persuasive
power. The rich imagination offers him various possibilities of styles, which
are surprising in shaping consciousness. Always speaks the eye, the mental side
convinces and the absolute cleanliness of its fantasy gives to its pictorial
work the lasting foundation.
Where he argues in his pictures with aggressive love for his point of view, becomes he the convincing avant - gardist with almost demonic fascination. Its contemporary representations, in which it the dangers, which threaten our people, are revealed suitably, to awake-shake and courage lots with new life to fulfil.
Smagon
says to its principal work, to the ‘pictures of history ':
"I belong also still to the generation of the eye-witnesses of the 20-century connected with the fate of the Germans. As educating artists feel I forced the experienced whole truth of the history, which is concealed until today if possible, artistically to naturally process themselves and for future generations testify."