Johann Carl Smirsch

Johann Carl Smirsch (born April 25, 1793 in Vienna , † September 18, 1869 in Graz ) was an Austrian civil servant and painter .

Life

Born in Vienna's Leopoldstadt as the son of Moravian parents, Smirsch attended the academic high school and was a schoolmate of one of the Kupelwieser brothers (Johann) there.

After he had trained as a flower and still life painter at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna , he joined a number of ambitious young artists around Eduard Anschütz and the Kupelwieser brothers (especially Josef , Leopold and Johann), who joined forces in 1817 –1818 met regularly in a so-called nonsense society in an inn on Wiener Landstrasse.

Here Smirsch stood out not only because of his wit, but also because of his pseudonym Nina Wutzerl , especially since he wore men's trousers, but over them a woman's robe and a lady's hat with peacock feathers.

In the "Archive of Human Nonsense", a magazine published by the association, Smirsch hardly appeared through written articles or watercolors, but was one of the most frequently described members due to his striking appearance.

In 1824 Smirsch was also mentioned by Franz Schubert , in his only letter to Leopold Kupelwieser in Rome, whose Viennese intermediary was Smirsch.

Around 1830 the family of the later Schubert biographer Heinrich Kreißle von Hellborn also lived in the house he lived in.

At the age of 76 the bachelor decided to marry the cook Franziska Puchinger, who had taken care of the household for him for many years.

Works by Smirsch can be found in various collections and occasionally in stores.

literature

• Rita Steblin : Schubert's "Nina" and the True Peacocks , in: The Musical Times 138 (1997), pp. 13-19.
• Rita Steblin: The nonsense society Franz Schubert, Leopold Kupelwieser and their circle of friends . Böhlau, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-205-98820-5