Alfred Kubin

Alfred Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian artist, illustrator. He was born in Leitmeritz (Litoměřice), Bohemia, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. During his adolescents he studied under the landscape photographer Alois Beer. In 1896, he attempted suicide on his mother's grave and a year later he suffered a nervous breakdown. He started his artistic studies at Munich Academy in 1899 but did not earn a degree. His illustrative work consists of mainly pen and ink drawings, watercolors, and lithographs. They exude nightmarish, uncanny atmosphere, often reflecting the psychological terror of modern life. Kubin illustrated the literary works of Poe, E. T. A. Hoffmann and Dostoevsky. He was also an occasional writer. His only novel was The Other Side, published in 1908. It reflects the mood of Kafka’s works and he himself held the work in high esteem.