Roberto Fabelo and Ernst Fuchs are both highly significant artists known for their distinctive figurative styles that blend reality with the fantastical, yet they come from different schools and approaches. Here’s a comparison:

Roberto Fabelo

• Style: Often described as surrealistic, absurd, and expressionistic, with elements of magical realism. He has a meticulous attention to detail and strong drawing skills. His work frequently features grotesque human and animal figures, distorted forms, and allegorical storytelling.
• Influences: Deeply influenced by Francisco Goya, as well as Hieronymus Bosch, Rembrandt, the Dutch and Flemish masters, and literary figures like Dante (Divine Comedy), Gabriel García Márquez (magical realism), and Franz Kafka (The Metamorphosis). He is sometimes called the “Honoré Daumier of contemporary Cuban art” due to his social commentary.
• Themes: His art often explores the human condition, identity, the relationship between people and nature, and social/political issues. He uses duality – blending beauty with a critical, acidic, or satirical viewpoint – to provoke reflection. His work can be lyrical, oniric, satirical, and sometimes erotic.
• Technique: Versatile in materials, including painting, drawing (often on unusual surfaces like burnt pots or anatomical plates), and sculpture.

Ernst Fuchs (Austrian, 1930–2015)

• Style: A co-founder of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. His work is characterized by highly detailed, luminous, visionary, and often mystical or religious imagery. It blends academic realism with surreal imagination.
• Influences: Heavily influenced by Old Masters like Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, Jan van Eyck, and Hieronymus Bosch. He also drew inspiration from Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and delved into symbolism, alchemy, and Jungian psychology.
• Themes: His art is deeply rooted in spiritual, mystical, and religious themes, often reinterpreting biblical narratives or exploring universal concepts of creation and transformation. His work frequently features cherubs, mythological subjects, and a unique form of visionary mannerism.
• Technique: Famous for reviving and mastering the “mischtechnik” (mixed technique) of painting, which involves building volume with egg tempera and then glazing with oil paints mixed with resin, creating a jewel-like effect and vivid lighting. He also worked in sculpture, architecture, stage design, and printmaking.

Key Comparisons and Contrasts:

1. Artistic Movement/School:
   • Fabelo: More broadly fits within contemporary figurative art with strong surreal and expressionistic leanings, influenced by magical realism. He’s not formally tied to a specific “school” in the same way.
   • Fuchs: A central figure of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, a distinct movement that emerged in post-WWII Austria, emphasizing meticulous technique and visionary content.
2. Core Influences & Focus:
   • Fabelo: Strong connection to Goya’s social commentary and dark visions, combined with literary influences (Kafka, García Márquez) to explore the human condition and social critique. His surrealism is often used for allegorical storytelling and societal reflection.
   • Fuchs: Deeply rooted in Old Master techniques and spiritual/mystical traditions. His fantastic realism often served to explore religious allegories and archetypal visions. While he touched on surrealism, his path veered more into visionary mannerism.
3. Themes:
   • Fabelo: More overtly sociopolitical and humanistic in his critique and exploration of identity, albeit through fantastical means. He often presents a “duality” of beauty and an underlying, sometimes unsettling, truth.
   • Fuchs: Primarily focused on cosmic, divine, and esoteric narratives. His fantastical elements are often in service of a spiritual quest or the depiction of inner, archetypal worlds.
4. Technique:
   • Fabelo: Highly skilled in drawing and painting, with a distinct expressive style that can range from delicate to grotesque. Adaptable to unconventional surfaces.
   • Fuchs: Revered for his revival and mastery of the “mischtechnik,” which gives his paintings a unique luminosity and depth, reminiscent of Renaissance masters.

In essence, while both artists create compelling, detailed figurative works that venture into the fantastic, Fabelo tends to use the fantastic to critically examine the human condition and societal realities, often with a biting satirical edge, much like his inspiration Goya. Fuchs, on the other hand, employs his fantastic realism to delve into spiritual, mystical, and archetypal realms, creating luminous and visionary worlds rooted in a profound study of classical techniques and esoteric symbolism.