Othmar Winkler
Essentiality and sharp edges are signature traits of Winkler’s sculptures, displayed in this junior suite of northern charm. The abundant natural light enhances its plain and elegant style, and the comfortable couch is the perfect spot from where to enjoy the enchanting scenery of the Dolomites… although the whirlpool bathtub offers an equally breathtaking view, as well as a healthy and relaxing break.
- Freestanding whirlpool bathtub
- Private balcony with stunning view of the Marmolada featuring two chaise longues with sheepskin leather seats
- High-quality mattresses
- Walk-in wardrobe
- Minibar and safe
- Multilingual Smart TV
- Wooden flooring
- Selection of fresh fruit upon arrival
- Pillow menu with a variety of pillows to choose from
- Soft blanket
- Premium courtesy line with natural high-end products
- Kettle with a selection of herbal teas, tea, and coffee
- Comfortable bathrobes, towels, sauna towels, and slippers
- High-speed fiber-optic Wi-Fi connection
- Housekeeping service - twice-daily
- Comfortable shoehorn with brush
- Umbrella
- Mattress topper
- Choice of duvet and full bed setup
- Fabric laundry bag
- Two Montura merino wool blankets
- In-room temperature control
Othmar Winkler
His father abandoned him when he was a little child, to seek fortune in the Usa, entrusting him to the orphanage in Bressanone, not far from Brunico where he was born; both villages and the current Trentino-Alto Adige region were under the Habsburg domination.
At the age of 19 years old he moved to Ortisei, in Val Gardena, where he attended the local professional school. The director of the school, prof. Sella, appreciated the sculptures of the young pupil.
At the end of his studies he moved to Emil Demetz, a sculptor friend who lived in Acqui, in Piedmont in 1928. Thanks to the friendship with Demetz, after a couple of years, he found the opportunity to move to the capital, where he exhibited for the first time. Following a very positive review in the magazine “Oggi e Domani”, Mussolini also visited the exhibition. Impressed by Winkler’s works, the Duce bought one of his works and summoned the sculptor to Palazzo Venezia commissioning his own portrait, a wooden sculpture in 1932.
During the same year, following a meeting at the German embassy in Rome, the Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels invited him to Berlin. Five years later he went to Oslo, where he met the painter Edvard Munch.
Before the beginning of the Second World War he came back to Italy, where he decided to stay, teaching in 1943 for a short period in Ortisei; he will be fired because of his unfitting personality. After that he went to Trento because he found a job at the local department of Fine Arts.
He moved to Trentino to work at the department of Fine Arts in Trento, where he made his first Via Crucis for the church of San Udalrico in Lavis; here he also worked as an interpreter, an activity that would have brought him to Montecassino, but he decided to escape to Val di Rabbi. Here he carved wooden altars; sacred wooden art was also the recurring theme of his work, including many Via Crucis. The church of Santa Maria Bambini in the Institute of the same name in Trento has perhaps the most famous of these.
Once abandoned the sacred wooden art for the bronze sculpture of a profane theme, in the second 50s and early 60s he created various works including the cycle of bronzes on I lavori fondamentali dell’Uomo in Bolzano, the monument to Padre Haspinger in San Martino in Casies, the war memorial Caduti in Bressanone. The cemetery of Trento, on the other hand,has two of his works in marble: Cesare Battisti and Alcide Degasperi busts.
During the years of the 1968 protest, he made hundreds of sketches of the protagonists, the students of the newborn faculty of Sociology in Trento. In the same period, his graphic works were also inspired by the figure of Michael Gaismair, leader of the peasants wars of the 1500s.
In Strasbourg, at the seat of the European parliament, the history of the Trentino people was exhibited in 1994. Later the same exhibition was inaugurated in the presence of the Archduke Otto of Habsburg in Arco (Tn). The bronze work of San Francesco straziato was a gift made by the artist to the city of Assisi struck by the earthquake in 1998.
Othmar Winkler died in Trento the following year but was buried in the small cemetery in Velturno (Bz), his adopted hometown, where used to live his mother.
Othmar Winkler
His father abandoned him when he was a little child, to seek fortune in the Usa, entrusting him to the orphanage in Bressanone, not far from Brunico where he was born; both villages and the current Trentino-Alto Adige region were under the Habsburg domination.
At the age of 19 years old he moved to Ortisei, in Val Gardena, where he attended the local professional school. The director of the school, prof. Sella, appreciated the sculptures of the young pupil.
At the end of his studies he moved to Emil Demetz, a sculptor friend who lived in Acqui, in Piedmont in 1928. Thanks to the friendship with Demetz, after a couple of years, he found the opportunity to move to the capital, where he exhibited for the first time. Following a very positive review in the magazine “Oggi e Domani”, Mussolini also visited the exhibition. Impressed by Winkler’s works, the Duce bought one of his works and summoned the sculptor to Palazzo Venezia commissioning his own portrait, a wooden sculpture in 1932.
During the same year, following a meeting at the German embassy in Rome, the Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels invited him to Berlin. Five years later he went to Oslo, where he met the painter Edvard Munch.
Before the beginning of the Second World War he came back to Italy, where he decided to stay, teaching in 1943 for a short period in Ortisei; he will be fired because of his unfitting personality. After that he went to Trento because he found a job at the local department of Fine Arts.
He moved to Trentino to work at the department of Fine Arts in Trento, where he made his first Via Crucis for the church of San Udalrico in Lavis; here he also worked as an interpreter, an activity that would have brought him to Montecassino, but he decided to escape to Val di Rabbi. Here he carved wooden altars; sacred wooden art was also the recurring theme of his work, including many Via Crucis. The church of Santa Maria Bambini in the Institute of the same name in Trento has perhaps the most famous of these.
Once abandoned the sacred wooden art for the bronze sculpture of a profane theme, in the second 50s and early 60s he created various works including the cycle of bronzes on I lavori fondamentali dell’Uomo in Bolzano, the monument to Padre Haspinger in San Martino in Casies, the war memorial Caduti in Bressanone. The cemetery of Trento, on the other hand,has two of his works in marble: Cesare Battisti and Alcide Degasperi busts.
During the years of the 1968 protest, he made hundreds of sketches of the protagonists, the students of the newborn faculty of Sociology in Trento. In the same period, his graphic works were also inspired by the figure of Michael Gaismair, leader of the peasants wars of the 1500s.
In Strasbourg, at the seat of the European parliament, the history of the Trentino people was exhibited in 1994. Later the same exhibition was inaugurated in the presence of the Archduke Otto of Habsburg in Arco (Tn). The bronze work of San Francesco straziato was a gift made by the artist to the city of Assisi struck by the earthquake in 1998.
Othmar Winkler died in Trento the following year but was buried in the small cemetery in Velturno (Bz), his adopted hometown, where used to live his mother.
