Die träumenden Knaben/ Der weiße Tiertöter; Geschrieben und gezeichnet von Oskar Kokoschka

By Oskar Kokoschka

The Austrian painter and graphic artist Oskar Kokoschka was given a commission by the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) in 1907 to design a children’s book. He wrote a text about first love, the period between childhood and adulthood and the longing for foreign countries – issues that already interested him at that time. Kokoschka illustrated his story with color lithographs and also integrated writing into his design. The draft book entirely failed to meet the Wiener Werkstätte’s expectations for a children’s book. Nevertheless, they decided to publish the work with a print run of 500 copies. The book sold poorly, however, in 1917, the Kurt Wolff Verlag in Leipzig acquired and sold the remaining 275 copies.

The Dreaming Boys contains a prologue and seven dreams, the vividly colored lithographs that mark the transition from Art Nouveau to Expressionism. The book marked the beginning of Expressionism in Vienna. It is now considered one of the most important illustrated works of the 20th century.

Hardcover
52 pages
Text in German
Insel Verlag Publishing, 1996
Originally published in 1907
4.8 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
ISBN 9783458191704
Artist Monograph, Short Story, Fiction, Printmaking