The work of the Austrian Alfred Kubin, who was both an artist and a writer, is influenced by contemporary currents such as Symbolism and Expressionism, but at the same time occupies a special position among his contemporaries. Inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and E.T.A. Hoffmann, his drawings, etchings and watercolours often depict nightmarish scenes full of grotesque and surreal moments. Kubin's dream visions reveal abysses of the human psyche. His graphic works often include elements of Surrealism and Gothic Romanticism, frequently depicting dreamlike or nightmarish landscapes inhabited by strange creatures, disembodied heads, and grotesque figures. Kubin's complex compositions show formal or thematic references to various artists such as Francisco de Goya, Max Klinger, James Ensor and Edvard Munch.
In addition to his visual art, Kubin was also a prolific writer, producing a number of novels, short stories, and plays that share the same macabre and otherworldly topics as his visual work. His oeuvre reflects the anxieties of the early 20th century, with a focus on the psychological and spiritual turmoil of the individual in the face of modernity and social decay.
