Viktor Oskar Tilgner


Viktor Oskar Tilgner was an Austrian sculptor and medailleur.

Life

He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner. The family moved to Vienna when he was a child. His talent was recognized early by the sculptor, who became his first teacher. Then, at the Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under :de:Franz_Bauer_|Franz Bauer and Josef Gasser. Later, he was attracted to engraving and worked with the medailleur.
One of Tilgner's student's was German sculptor John Walz.
He belonged to the circle of artists around Count Karol Lanckoroński. During the World Exhibition of 1873, he met the French sculptor Gustave Deloye, who strongly influenced his work. The following year, he took a trip to Italy with Hans Makart, whose "realistic academicism" also influenced Tilgner's style. For the last twenty years of his life, he had a large studio in what was originally a greenhouse at the Palais Schwarzenberg
Despite a long-standing heart condition and recurring chest pain, he spent a strenuous day working on his Mozart monument, to get it ready on schedule. He died of a heart attack the next morning. Often considered to be his greatest work, the monument was unveiled a few days after his death. The bulk of his estate was bequeathed to his hometown and is now on display at the Bratislava City Gallery.

Selected major works