The present article shows, by means of documentary material, Kokoschka's rise to fame as one of the most eminent painters and draughtsmen of the twentieth century during his stay in Dresden in 1917—1923. This success was possible thanks to the numerous reviews of his exhibitions held in many German cities, written by well-known literary and art historians, and published in art magazines, literary journals, the daily press, as well as in the first monographs of his oeuvre. The reviewers were particularly fascinated by Kokoschka's ability to make the spiritual elements visible in his art, as displayed already in his earliest works. Of crucial importance in this period was Kokoschka's participation in the Venice Biennial of 1922, for the works exhibited there showed the utmost level of colour and expression. All the same, in the subsequent showing at Paul Cassirer's gallery in Berlin in 1923, Kokoschka's success in Germany did not reach its climax.