Career Summary

Richard Teschner studied at the Kunstakademie in Prague (1896‒99) and between 1908 and 1912 was associated with Klimt, Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte. From 1912 he worked with puppetry, fashioning the puppets and creating the staging himself and even composing his own music, often using the "Polyphon" ‒ a large musical box with interchangeable metal disks.

One of the greatest representatives of the Gesamtkunstwerk on a miniaturist scale, Richard Teschner was a universalist like many other artists who came to Vienna from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (e.g. Gustav Mahler, Josef Hoffmann, Alfred Roller, Joseph Maria Olbrich). Although his work was regarded as part of the Jugendstil movement, the world of imagery that he created was inspired by the Javanese art of stick puppetry (Wayang kulit).

Teschner and Schenker

Heinrich and Jeanette Schenker purchased tickets at 10 shillings for the Teschner "Figurentheater" performance on January 28, 1928 their delight at which Heinrich recorded in his diary (OJ 4/1, p. 3170): 5:15 to Gersthof, to Teschner; we are both utterly enchanted by the presentation, in particular I was astounded by the ballerina's good ear; she danced better than Wiesenthal. Weber's Invitation to the Dance was the subject, the "Christmas Play" was thoroughly beautiful, the pictures and colors impressive. I especially liked the figure of St. Joseph, my Lie-Liechen the Annunciation and the Angel; she even saw jewels on the fingers of the Three Kings.

Teschner's surviving effects are now preserved in the Theatermuseum in Vienna (part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum), which keeps his works alive through regular performances using the original puppets. These include the above-mentioned "Christmas Play," together with a data bank of historical and present-day images.

Sources:

Contributor: