Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller - Straddling Biedermeier and Modernity

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793-1865) is Austria’s most important nineteenth-century artist. He painted portraits, still lifes, and landscapes with equal virtuosity, creating masterpieces in all of these genres.

He also painted numerous works depicting the everyday life of rural communities, exploring the changing social conditions of laborers and agricultural workers as a result of industrialization.

Reproducing nature as he saw it was pivotal for Waldmüller, and painting outdoors and the realistic rendering of sunlight were defining characteristics of his art.

Long after his death he received acclaim for this from the Vienna Secessionists, who favored a similar approach. His unconventional attitude while at the Academy of Fine Arts and his call for official state promotion of the arts were also in line with their thinking. They adopted the “old master” as one of their own, calling him the “original Secessionist,” and acquired his works for exhibition at the Modern Gallery, founded in 1903. This tribute marked the start of Waldmüller’s international recognition.