Gottfried Lindauer 1839–1926. Pilsen Painter of the New Zealand Maori

The first monograph about the life and work of Gottfried Lindauer (1839–1926), a painter whose work connects Central Europe and Oceania. He was born in Pilsen and studied in Vienna under Josef Führich and Carl Hemerlein. At first he focused on painting religious themes while working for the Roman-Catholic parish of Valašské Klobouky, and on portraits, primarily of the Pilsen bourgeoisie. In 1874, at the age of 35, he moved to New Zealand, where he gained recognition as a portraitist.

He especially excelled in his portraits of the Maori, faithfully, almost photorealistically capturing representations of men and women from the tribes of the indigenous people in New Zealand, including their traditional clothes, weapons, amulets and facial tattoos. Due to his brilliant mastery of painting with a luminous effect he managed to endow his portraits with a veracity and conviction, while he also managed to provide the portraits with a heroic character, dignity and feeling of sanctity. This corresponded with the thoughts and intuition of the Maori who felt spiritually connected with Lindauer and considered him to be destined to depict their famous ancestors. The monograph, edited by Aleš Filip and Roman Musil, contains, among others, treatises by Leonard Bell from the University of Auckland and Ngahiraka Mason from the Auckland Art Gallery, which oversees part of the estate of Gottfried Lindauer. The book is produced in separate Czech and English editions.