About this lot

Description

Franz Richard Unterberger (Austrian, 1838-1902)

Rio dei Ognissanti with Santa Maria del Rosario in the distance, Venice
signed 'F R Unterberger' (lower left)
oil on canvas
80 x 69.5cm

Provenance:
MacConnal-Mason & Son, London, from whom acquired by the grandfather of the present owner by 1935

The present painting epitomizes the spectacular and highly romanticised Italian views which brought Franz Richard Unterberger international recognition. Suffused with a warm and shimmering light, the scene is populated with fashionably dressed couples strolling alongside vegetable sellers and other members of Venetian society. Like many of Unterberger’s compositions, certain perspectives have been expanded and some architectural features idealised or added for artistic effect.

Born in Innsbruck in 1838, the eldest son of an art dealer, Unterberger began his artistic training at the Munich Academy in the 1850s under the guidance of Albert Zimmermann (1808-1888) and Julius Lange (1817-1878). In 1859, he left Munich to study in Düsseldorf where he was greatly influenced by the brothers Andreas (1815-1910) and Oswald Achenbach (1827-1905) and initially became known as a painter of atmospheric Alpine landscapes set in his native Tyrol.


In 1864, he established himself in Brussels, though he spent much of his time travelling extensively across Europe, from Norway to Sicily. He exhibited his first Italian scene in 1868 and since then became renowned mainly for his Venetian scenes and panoramic coastal landscapes set in Southern Italy. He gained a large international following, exhibiting his work throughout Europe and in America. In 1874, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

The painting is executed in oil on a linen canvas which has been lined. The lining is well attached and the canvas has good tension. There is a minor undulation at the right hand side of the lower edge. The paint layers are in a stable condition overall apart from a small localised areas of raised, flaking paint at the centre of the lower edge. A few small paint losses have occurred in this area. There is some overpaint in the sky which is slightly yellowed compared to the surrounding paint layers. The varnish is clear, glossy and even. There is a light layer of surface dirt including fly spots and some white drips in the darker paint passages. Framed 97 x 87cm

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