Germann
Untitled, 1992
Pencil and coloured pencil on paper.
Original catalogue wording
Ohne Titel, 1992
Bleistift und Farbstift auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Franz Kernbeis
Born : 1935Died : 2019Documented citizenships : Austria
Franz Kernbeis (1935–2019), an Austrian artist, was the youngest in a family of seven children. After eight years of primary school, he worked in his parents’ agricultural concern. His artistic path is part of a life marked by a long stay at the psychiatric and neurological hospital of Maria Gugging, where he was admitted in 1955 following psychological disturbances. At the beginning of his stay, he was plunged into near-total silence. He began his artistic production at the age of 44 at the Haus der Künstler, a place of residence and creation where some of the institution’s patients lived. The biographical source indicates that his condition improved over the years.
Using crayons, Kernbeis creates large compositions bringing together human figures, animals and vehicles. Outside of drawing, he enjoys long walks and tends a flower bed in front of the institution. These details situate a practice described through its subjects and living environment, while the sources provide no further information about the techniques or the organisation of his compositions.
An untitled work dated 1992, executed in pencil and coloured pencil on paper, is documented in a sale; it measures 310 × 435 mm. The page devoted to the artist lists the exhibition “Vehicles”, presented from 8 November 2013 to 27 April 2014. It also offers the French edition of Véhicules, published in 2013 in Lausanne and Milan by the Collection de l’Art Brut and 5 Continents Editions, with a preface by Sarah Lombardi and texts by Michel Thévoz and Anic Zanzi. The Collection de l’Art Brut also presents a selection of his works in its section devoted to the artist.
This profile brings together identity references for Franz Kernbeis and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
2 references are documented at Germann. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Works recorded at auction
Germann
Untitled, 1988
Pencil and coloured pencil on paper.
Original catalogue wording
Ohne Titel, 1988
Bleistift und Farbstift auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗Sources and references
- Reference record
- LoC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
- Documentary source
- Documentary source
SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19