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Lot Essay
It is truly sensational to discover a good painting from the era of the Viennese Biedermeier and unprecedented when it is a monumental work by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller - one wonders how this can be possible, as the importance of the artist's work has long been recognized and has been the subject of many academic studies?
In the last century, three specialists in Viennese Art History have dedicated themselves to Waldmüller's oeuvre: in 1907 Arthur Roessler, together with the photographer Gustav Pisko, published two books on the artist, which in addition to his workbook, also included his letters and pamphlets1. In 1957 Bruno Grimschitz, in collaboration with Emil Richter, published a Catalogue raisonné2 on Waldmüller, which was updated in 1996 by Rupert Feuchtmüller with the assistance of Claudia Wöhrer3. This last large-format publication, together with Feuchtmüller's files which he dubbed the Waldmüller archive, now in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, forms the the basis for the "knowledge" about the artist's work. Although Roessler, Grimschitz and Feuchtmüller were profound connoisseurs of Waldmüller, all were limited by the information available, studying only work that was known to exist.
Unfortunately there are no complete records. Perhaps Waldmüller did not keep a complete list of his works or a ledger of his expenditure and income, or perhaps this documentation was lost; either way it is still possible for a work like the present painting to remain unknown. The composition depicts an idyllic scene in Sicily. In the centre are five girls who have broken their journey and are exchanging secrets. In the background, behind olive and oak trees, lies a Doric temple, beyond which the terrain rises steeply up to the craggy rock plateau, which forms a sharp silhouette against the pale blue sky. The view of the sea to the right of the composition and the warmth of the palette suggests a location in southern Europe and, more specifically, the Greek temple refers to Sicily where we know that Waldmüller spent the autumns of 1844, 1845 and 1846. The high mountain ridge affords us a precise localization in Eastern Sicily as this specific rock formation and architecture are also depicted in a study that he made during his first trip to Sicily5 of the landscape around Mola. Mola, also called Castelmola, is a mountain town at 550m altitude near Taormina.
The study (fig.1), which is now in the collection of the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, is the most interesting nature study by the artist: it clearly illustrates how seriously the artist took to working 'en plein air', in front of nature. Every detail gives insight into how he studied the sunlight, how he captured the light and shadows on the mountain slope, and thus made nature his teacher. Each area in this landscape is full of summer heat and drought. The heat haze over earth and the trees is illustrated by a flickering of colours, a dazzling oscillation of brown, grey and ochre juxtaposed by the lush greens of cypress and olive trees.
The pictures that Waldmüller brought back from his first trip to Sicily show a keen observation of the southern light. The painter studied the alteration of colour due to changes of light intensity and soon realized that white does not exist in extreme sunshine and is best represented by a delicate yellow. To illustrate the flickering in the air, the painter placed light and shadow sharply side by side, which was critically commented on by his contemporaries in the artist's obituary in 1865: "Waldmüller kam in seinen alten Tagen auf den Einfall, um eine glänzende Farbe zu erhalten, müsse man im Sonnenlicht malen. Das erklärt wohl die seltsam grelle Farbengebung (sic) auf vielen seiner späteren Bilder" (Waldmüller in his old age had the idea that to get a bright colour, one must paint in the sunlight. That probably explains the strange bright colour choice in many of his later paintings)6.
The contempt for Waldmüller's opinions was mostly caused by the manner of their delivery, the result of the difficult personality of the artist, a stubborn and argumentative spirit, who defended his view on art in a rather unconventional manner. He urged his fellow artists to also study nature, wanted to see it incorporated in the curriculum of academic education, wrote several treaties on the subject and went so far as to demand the dissolution of the Academy because in his view its methods were inefficient and laborious. He proposed a twelve month Masterclass which would provide a budding artist a solid enough foundation; everything else would develop in due course. As a consequence of his controversial views he was excluded from the academic college and was made to retire at half pay. Decades later, his endeavours would be recognized. Eventually it was the artists of the Vienna Secession, who recognised in him a forebearer of their own ambitions. They declared him to be one of them, the "Ursecessionisten". From that time onward Waldmüller was considered the leading Austrian painter of the 19th Century.
Subsequently people acknowledged Waldmüller's accomplishments and lauded the many innovative aspects of his oeuvre7. It was his sometimes merciless depiction of physiognomy in his portraiture that initiated the realist movement in European painting. His landscapes are celebrated examples of equally uncompromising views of nature through their honest reproduction and special treatment of light. In his genre painting Waldmüller touched upon social issues in an unequalled way in Europe; even in his flower and fruit painting his astounding eye for detail and verisimilitude are striking. The aforementioned elements are all tastefully combined in the present painting, which brings to life a southern idyll. He combined the existing mining town of Mola with a Doric Peripteros from his imagination and complemented it with girls in delicate garments and a view of the sea. He created a "Capriccio Siciliano". It was not meant as a contemporary view, or a depiction of Sicily as Waldmüller had encountered during his travels. Rather, he wanted to depict his personal vision of a mythical past where girls could be seen dressed as lightly and as carefree in nature as they were on ancient Greek vases. The faces of the girls in the picture however are not those of ancient beauties or even of the local Sicilian populace8, these belong to Waldmüller's models. It is also interesting that Waldmüller added vegetation which one would not expect in Sicily: next to the native cactus and oleander he added primrose blooming in the front left amid the dry grass - just as we can see it in the painting Vorfrühling im Wienerwald.
The theme of the present painting can be considered somewhat of an exception in Waldmüller's oeuvre as this mythical subject matter is slightly at odds with the overall realist ethos underpinning his work. However a number of paintings are known that provide a context for the present painting such as Badende Frauen am Waldbach9, a group of wood nymphs on the banks of a cool stream in the Vienna Woods.
Why the artist dabbled in these whimsical and dreamy topics around 1850 is a mystery to us today, especially as at that time he increasingly dedicated himself to the depiction of the agrarian life. Not only did a revolution rage in Vienna in 1848 but Waldmüller's conflict with the Vienna Academy escalated. However these were also years of personal happiness; in January 1851 Waldmüller could finally marry the 25-year-old Anna Bayer, after his first wife, from whom he had been living separately for decades, had died.
Despite the unusual position that the present painting holds in Waldmüller's oeuvre, and despite the knowledge that the artist had realised this dream of Sicily in his studio in Vienna, this is an outstanding work. The interplay of colours, the balanced composition of the rising mountain on the left and the view of the sea on the right, and the subtle use of sunlight which flares on the edges of the leaves of the vegetation, illustrating the intensity of the heat, are all elements that combine to show the artist at the height of his skill.
The knowledge that Waldmüller gained on his travels south of the colouring of the sun and the effect of daylight, he later applied to his views of the Vienna Woods, creating the most significant landscapes of the 19th Century in Austrian Art.
The present painting will be included in the Waldmüller Archive of the Belvedere Museum, Vienna under Catalogue raisonné no. Neu/34.
Sabine Grabner
Curator - Collection 19th Century
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
We would like to thank Sabine Grabner for the above catalogue entry and for researching and authenticating the present lot.
1 Arthur Roessler and Gustav Pisko, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. Sein Leben, sein Werk und seine Schriften (mit Werkverzeichnis), Vienna 1907.
2 Bruno Grimschitz, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (mit Werkverzeichnis), Salzburg 1957.
3 Rupert Feuchtmüller, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller 1793-1865. Leben - Schriften - Werke (mit Werkverzeichnis), Vienna/Munich 1996.
4 All Catalogue raisonne numbers (WV-Nr.) mentioned relate to the Feuchtmüller publication.
5 Ruine des griechischen Theaters zu Taormina in Sizilien, WV-Nr. 709, and Ruine des griechischen Theaters Taormina gegen die Meerenge von Messina, WV-Nr. 710, both in: Collection Liechtenstein, Vaduz-Vienna, and Felshang und Opuntie, WV-Nr. 712, Private collection.
6 Quote from Ludwig von Hevesi, Österreichische Kunst im 19. Jahrhundert, Leipzig 1903, p. 83.
7 On the significant achievements of the Artist see: Sabine Grabner und Agnes Husslein-Arco (Hg.), Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. 1793-1865, Exhibition catalogue Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna and Muse du Louvre, Paris/Vienna 2009.
8 Interesting is a comparison with Genrescenes that the artist created on his last journey to Sicily in 1846 in Taormina: Am Brunnen von Taormina, WV-Nr. 753, Staatlichen Galerie Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale and Labung am Stadtbrunnen von Taormina, WV-Nr. 752, Wien Museum, Vienna.
9Badende Frauen am Waldbach, 1848, WV-Nr. 790, Schweinfurt Sammlung Georg Schäfer and a later version 1850, WV-Nr. 809, Private collection.
In the last century, three specialists in Viennese Art History have dedicated themselves to Waldmüller's oeuvre: in 1907 Arthur Roessler, together with the photographer Gustav Pisko, published two books on the artist, which in addition to his workbook, also included his letters and pamphlets
Unfortunately there are no complete records. Perhaps Waldmüller did not keep a complete list of his works or a ledger of his expenditure and income, or perhaps this documentation was lost; either way it is still possible for a work like the present painting to remain unknown. The composition depicts an idyllic scene in Sicily. In the centre are five girls who have broken their journey and are exchanging secrets. In the background, behind olive and oak trees, lies a Doric temple, beyond which the terrain rises steeply up to the craggy rock plateau, which forms a sharp silhouette against the pale blue sky. The view of the sea to the right of the composition and the warmth of the palette suggests a location in southern Europe and, more specifically, the Greek temple refers to Sicily where we know that Waldmüller spent the autumns of 1844, 1845 and 1846. The high mountain ridge affords us a precise localization in Eastern Sicily as this specific rock formation and architecture are also depicted in a study that he made during his first trip to Sicily
The study (fig.1), which is now in the collection of the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, is the most interesting nature study by the artist: it clearly illustrates how seriously the artist took to working 'en plein air', in front of nature. Every detail gives insight into how he studied the sunlight, how he captured the light and shadows on the mountain slope, and thus made nature his teacher. Each area in this landscape is full of summer heat and drought. The heat haze over earth and the trees is illustrated by a flickering of colours, a dazzling oscillation of brown, grey and ochre juxtaposed by the lush greens of cypress and olive trees.
The pictures that Waldmüller brought back from his first trip to Sicily show a keen observation of the southern light. The painter studied the alteration of colour due to changes of light intensity and soon realized that white does not exist in extreme sunshine and is best represented by a delicate yellow. To illustrate the flickering in the air, the painter placed light and shadow sharply side by side, which was critically commented on by his contemporaries in the artist's obituary in 1865: "Waldmüller kam in seinen alten Tagen auf den Einfall, um eine glänzende Farbe zu erhalten, müsse man im Sonnenlicht malen. Das erklärt wohl die seltsam grelle Farbengebung (sic) auf vielen seiner späteren Bilder" (Waldmüller in his old age had the idea that to get a bright colour, one must paint in the sunlight. That probably explains the strange bright colour choice in many of his later paintings)
The contempt for Waldmüller's opinions was mostly caused by the manner of their delivery, the result of the difficult personality of the artist, a stubborn and argumentative spirit, who defended his view on art in a rather unconventional manner. He urged his fellow artists to also study nature, wanted to see it incorporated in the curriculum of academic education, wrote several treaties on the subject and went so far as to demand the dissolution of the Academy because in his view its methods were inefficient and laborious. He proposed a twelve month Masterclass which would provide a budding artist a solid enough foundation; everything else would develop in due course. As a consequence of his controversial views he was excluded from the academic college and was made to retire at half pay. Decades later, his endeavours would be recognized. Eventually it was the artists of the Vienna Secession, who recognised in him a forebearer of their own ambitions. They declared him to be one of them, the "Ursecessionisten". From that time onward Waldmüller was considered the leading Austrian painter of the 19th Century.
Subsequently people acknowledged Waldmüller's accomplishments and lauded the many innovative aspects of his oeuvre
The theme of the present painting can be considered somewhat of an exception in Waldmüller's oeuvre as this mythical subject matter is slightly at odds with the overall realist ethos underpinning his work. However a number of paintings are known that provide a context for the present painting such as Badende Frauen am Waldbach
Why the artist dabbled in these whimsical and dreamy topics around 1850 is a mystery to us today, especially as at that time he increasingly dedicated himself to the depiction of the agrarian life. Not only did a revolution rage in Vienna in 1848 but Waldmüller's conflict with the Vienna Academy escalated. However these were also years of personal happiness; in January 1851 Waldmüller could finally marry the 25-year-old Anna Bayer, after his first wife, from whom he had been living separately for decades, had died.
Despite the unusual position that the present painting holds in Waldmüller's oeuvre, and despite the knowledge that the artist had realised this dream of Sicily in his studio in Vienna, this is an outstanding work. The interplay of colours, the balanced composition of the rising mountain on the left and the view of the sea on the right, and the subtle use of sunlight which flares on the edges of the leaves of the vegetation, illustrating the intensity of the heat, are all elements that combine to show the artist at the height of his skill.
The knowledge that Waldmüller gained on his travels south of the colouring of the sun and the effect of daylight, he later applied to his views of the Vienna Woods, creating the most significant landscapes of the 19th Century in Austrian Art.
The present painting will be included in the Waldmüller Archive of the Belvedere Museum, Vienna under Catalogue raisonné no. Neu/34.
Sabine Grabner
Curator - Collection 19th Century
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
We would like to thank Sabine Grabner for the above catalogue entry and for researching and authenticating the present lot.
1 Arthur Roessler and Gustav Pisko, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. Sein Leben, sein Werk und seine Schriften (mit Werkverzeichnis), Vienna 1907.
2 Bruno Grimschitz, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (mit Werkverzeichnis), Salzburg 1957.
3 Rupert Feuchtmüller, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller 1793-1865. Leben - Schriften - Werke (mit Werkverzeichnis), Vienna/Munich 1996.
4 All Catalogue raisonne numbers (WV-Nr.) mentioned relate to the Feuchtmüller publication.
5 Ruine des griechischen Theaters zu Taormina in Sizilien, WV-Nr. 709, and Ruine des griechischen Theaters Taormina gegen die Meerenge von Messina, WV-Nr. 710, both in: Collection Liechtenstein, Vaduz-Vienna, and Felshang und Opuntie, WV-Nr. 712, Private collection.
6 Quote from Ludwig von Hevesi, Österreichische Kunst im 19. Jahrhundert, Leipzig 1903, p. 83.
7 On the significant achievements of the Artist see: Sabine Grabner und Agnes Husslein-Arco (Hg.), Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. 1793-1865, Exhibition catalogue Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna and Muse du Louvre, Paris/Vienna 2009.
8 Interesting is a comparison with Genrescenes that the artist created on his last journey to Sicily in 1846 in Taormina: Am Brunnen von Taormina, WV-Nr. 753, Staatlichen Galerie Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale and Labung am Stadtbrunnen von Taormina, WV-Nr. 752, Wien Museum, Vienna.
9Badende Frauen am Waldbach, 1848, WV-Nr. 790, Schweinfurt Sammlung Georg Schäfer and a later version 1850, WV-Nr. 809, Private collection.