Franz Kuna - Vienna, Fight for Favor, erotic drawing, 1920s

“The Duel of the Cavaliers” or “Battle for Love and Eroticism”
Very finely drawn erotic motif by the Austrian artist Franz Kuna (1881-1943).
Pencil on paper, loosely mounted in a folding passepartout
Unframed
Sheet size: 33 x 25.2 cm
Mount size: 40 x 30 cm
Monogrammed lower right by the artist: FK
Inscribed in the lower right corner of the page: “Original pencil drawing by Franz Kuna…”

The sheet is in very good condition. Very slight matting wear. A trace of fire in the lower right corner.

Biography:
Kuna Franz
Born in Aussig ad Elbe (Bohemia) on 30 July 1881
Died in Vienna on August 10, 1943.
He studied at the School of Applied Arts of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry in Vienna and at the University of Vienna. He worked as a secondary school assistant and substitute teacher in Vienna, becoming a provisional head teacher in 1907 and a permanent head teacher in 1911. From 1908 to 1910 he worked as an art teacher at the Gymnasium in Linz, from 1910 at the Stiftsgymnasium Wilhering, and from 1907 also at the teacher training college in Linz, serving as its director from 1938 to 1943. He was a student of F. Korensky in the Linz Nude Club. In 1919/20 he played a key role in the split of the "Grille" from the Upper Austrian Art Association. He created landscapes and figure scenes, tempera friezes and paintings, etchings, pen and ink drawings, bookplates, and highly prized erotic illustrations. He also designed emergency money for the communities of Grünburg and Neukirchen bei Lambach. His works are in both public and private collections.