Change and new beginnings. Franz Rudolf Wanka

The life of the artist Franz Rudolf Wanka (1908-1976) is representative of many people who came to the former Kloster Seeon (Seeon Monastery) in 1945/1946 during the turmoil of the early post-war period to find temporary accommodation in the refugee camp there.

At the same time, Franz Rudolf Wanka's path is a special one, an individual fate - as is that of every single person who sought refuge in "Seeon Castle", as it was also known at the time. Born in Bohemia, Wanka's successful artistic career, which he had built up as a young painter in his "old homeland" until 1939, had been completely destroyed by the war and found a new beginning in Seeon. In Chiemgau, Wanka and like-minded people founded the "Roter Reiter" artists' group, which was committed to classical modernism and thus found a link to pre-war Expressionism, which had been ostracised by National Socialism. Based on this, some of the artists attempted to turn towards the newly established trends of the "great" art history after 1945.

The exhibition focusses on Franz Rudolf Wanka's artistic work and personal life in Seeon and Obing from 1945 until the 1950s. With the help of many originals, which Wanka created with minimal means in the "Schloss Seeon refugee camp" and elsewhere, it provides an exciting insight into a time that was radically characterised by upheaval and change and yet was a hopeful new beginning.

Last edited on 27.05.2025