Which early experiences in Vienna influenced Oskar Kokoschka’s interest in art?

Oskar Kokoschka’s early interest in art was significantly shaped by his experiences in Vienna, where his family moved when he was a child. His initial artistic impressions were formed by the stained-glass windows and Baroque frescoes of the Church of the Piarist Order, where he sang in the choir.1

At age 18, he received a scholarship to the School of Arts and Crafts in Vienna. While he gained technical skills there in drawing, lithography, and bookbinding, he became profoundly dissatisfied with the curriculum because it focused exclusively on decorative arts and omitted the study of the human figure—a subject that remained his primary artistic interest throughout his life.1

His career was further catalyzed in 1908 by the architect Adolf Loos, who rejected the prevailing decorative ideals and provided Kokoschka with essential spiritual support, introduced him to sympathetic artists, and helped secure him commissions.1