Joseph Probst was born in Vianden in 1911. After a classical education in Luxembourg (1924–1931), he spent a year studying art at the École des Artisans in Luxembourg city. Following his graduation, he used various trips to deepen his artistic knowledge and passion. He first went to Brussels to enrol at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, then the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, and finally the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, from which he graduated in 1940.
The Second World War and the creative hiatus it imposed proved to be an opportunity for academic emancipation and coincided with Probst’s embrace of geometric abstraction. As the artist got better acquainted with modern practices, he let his inspiration carry his work toward lyrical abstraction (around 1955–1956) and expressionism. Under the guidance of the likes of Michel Stoffel and Lucien Wercollier, who influenced him and Probst in turn befriended, he founded the Nouvelle Equipe collective.
This environment of collaboration breeding support and inspiration led him to co-found another abstract-art-promoting collective in 1954, the Iconomaques, along with his wife Colette Probst-Wurth, Will Dahlem, Henri Dillenburg, François Gillen, François Kinnen, Emile Kirscht, Wenzel Profant, Michel Stoffel and Lucien Wercollier.
Stylistically, Probst evolved from dark muted colours and forms to more explicitly geometrical compositions that explored a wider spectrum of colours (1955). This shift coincided with a transition from oil-based paints to acrylics. In the 1970s, renewed clarity saw the artist turn to stained glass, in the form of monumental windows, murals and mosaics. During this process of discovery, the spiral – as a motif – gained a central formal importance, as did a latent romantic heritage. After years of abstraction, figuration would eventually resurface in Probst’s practice during the mid-1990s.
Among Probst’s most notable exhibitions, one can highlight: 100-Jahr-Feier zu Ehren des Gewerkschaftsbundes im öffentlichen Dienst, Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster, Neumünster Abbey, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg (2009); Die Winterreise, DEXIA-BIL, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg (1998); 1er Salon d’Art together with Lucien Wercollier, François Gillen and Josy Jungblut, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg (1948), as well as shows at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, France, and at the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland.
In 1960, he was awarded the Italian Marzotto Prize.
Probst passed away in 1997.
