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Kokoschka and Alma Mahler: Testimony to a Passionate Relationship

This text explores the passionate relationship between Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler. Kokoschka was born in Austria in 1886. He was influenced by the works of Gustav Klimt and medieval artists such as Lucas Cranach and Albrecht Durer, and painted many notable paintings in a distinctive Expressionist style in his early career. However, it was his relationship with Mahler that greatly influenced his work. Kokoschka first met Alma Mahler on 1912, eleven months after the death of her husband. Three days after meeting, Kokoschka proposed to her in a passionate letter and they embarked on a stormy relationship which was to last only three years. The 20 paintings (including the "Bride of the Winds"), 70 drawings and prints (including "Alma Mahler") and 7 fans that bear witness to this relationship are discussed. Previously unpublished material including Alma Mahler's diary from 1912-13 is used to complete the picture of this extraordinary relationship.