Arty Farty Friday ~ The Elusive Maximilian Pirner

Maximilian Pirner, born February 13, 1853, Schüttenhofen, Bohemia (Czech: Sušice). Died April 2, 1924, Prague. A Czech painter, member of the Vienna Secession and associated with the Czech Secession art movements. Pirner's usual themes were classical mythology, for example: Medusa (1891), Hekate (1901); also the macabre: Sleepwalker (1878), Daemon Love (1893), and Allegory of Death (1895). He also sketched or painted a number of of female figures, many of them nudes.

Described by one critic as having achieved "mastery of the sinuous line". Pirner also had his detractors. One contemporary critic, while acknowledging Pirner's talent, considered him an "over-sophisticated mystic."
(Information from Wikipedia).

That's all they wrote (in English)! There's a dearth of accessible information on this artist. The only other tid-bit I found is the fact that Pirner taught art - somewhere. A student mentioned in an article "was accepted to the class of drawing and painting of Max Pirner (1854-1924), an acknowledged artist of neo-romantic, philosophical inclinations".

A few of his paintings, then his natal chart.

Please click on images for larger or clearer views.

 Hekate

Hekate, a goddess in Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding two torches or a key, and in later periods depicted in triple form. She was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, necromancy, and sorcery. In the post-Christian writings of the Chaldean Oracles (2nd-3rd century CE) she was regarded with (some) rulership over earth, sea and sky, as well as a more universal role as Saviour (Soteira), Mother of Angels and the Cosmic World Soul. She was one of the main deities worshiped in Athenian households as a protective goddess and one who bestowed prosperity and daily blessings on the family. (Wikipedia)

 Medusa

In Greek mythology Medusa was a monster, a Gorgon, generally described as having the face of a hideous human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Gazing directly into her eyes would turn onlookers to stone. Medusa was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion. (Wikipedia)

 Empedocles

Empedocles (c.490 – c.430 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for being the originator of the cosmogenic theory of the four Classical elements. He also proposed powers called Love and Strife which would act as forces to bring about the mixture and separation of the elements. These physical speculations were part of a history of the universe which also dealt with the origin and development of life. Influenced by the Pythagoreans, he supported the doctrine of reincarnation. (Wikipedia)

 Jupiter a Jehova

 Allegory of Death

 The Sleepwalker

 Homo Homini Lupus

Homo homini lupus est is a Latin phrase meaning "man is a wolf to [his fellow] man." First attested in Plautus' Asinaria (195 BC, "lupus est homo homini"), the phrase is sometimes translated as "man is man's wolf", which can be interpreted to mean that man preys upon man. It is widely referenced when discussing the horrors of which humans are capable. (And ain't that the truth!!)


Born February 13, 1853, Schüttenhofen, Bohemia (Czech: Sušice). The chart is set for 12 noon, as no birth time is known.

Pirner had much Aquarius about him, a cluster of four personal planets in that sign, allied, by sextile, to Jupiter in its own sign of Sagittarius. So, his philosophical and intellectual sides are clearly marked, and connected to Venus (the arts). Pluto, Uranus and Saturn (could be nickamed the Terrible Trio) are antagonistically aligned to the cluster of Aquarius planets. How this might have manifested in the artist's life and personality remains unknown, other than, perhaps, critics' adverse commentary on his work.

Natal Moon would have been either in late Aries or early Taurus. I think early Taurus (ruled by Venus) would be a better bet, from the very little we know of him. Neptune (imagination) in its own sign, Pisces sextiles Saturn in Taurus, which, being translated could mean that his mystical creative imagination (Neptune) was helpful to his work and career (Saturn).