Josef Lauer

Josef Lauer (* 1818 in Vienna ; † September 28, 1881 there ) was an Austrian still life painter who worked, among other things, in the Biedermeier period .

Life, artistic training and activity

Typical work of Lauer: Large decorative still life of roses with butterflies and birds , oil on canvas, from 1870

Lauer was born in Vienna in 1818 and studied at the Vienna Academy under Sebastian Wegmayr , Joseph Mössmer , Thomas Ender and Franz Steinfeld . During his entire career he devoted himself almost exclusively to painting flowers and fruits, being the first to integrate still lifes with flowers into a landscape; often this was a forest background or, for the most part, magnificent flower and fruit bouquets.

So far, flowers have always been painted against a neutral background or a wall, and Lauer did this in some of his works. He usually built his works in such a way that they consisted of only a few individual elements and did not dazzle the beholder's eyes with the intoxication of colors and shapes. It is also noteworthy that Josef Lauer often included birds or insects in his works. He had his first exhibition in 1840, and more followed in the following years until the decline of the Biedermeier (until 1848). From 1840 to the 1860s he had his largest exhibition in the academic exhibitions on St. Anna and from 1851 in the Austrian Art Association founded by Rudolf von Arthaber after an idea from Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller .

Lauer, who was a member of the Künstlerhaus Wien from 1861 , lived and worked in his hometown of Vienna until his death. Although still life painting declined with the Biedermeier period, Lauer continued to do so until his death in 1881.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Lauer, Joseph . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 14th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing House, Vienna 1865, p. 218 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Schöny:  Lauer Joseph. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 48 f. (Direct links on p. 48 , p. 49 ).
• Austrian Gallery Belvedere (Ed.): Art of the 19th century. Inventory catalog . Volume 3. Vienna 1998.
• Wolfgang Krug (Ed.): Waldmüller to Schiele. Masterpieces from the collection of the Lower Austrian State Museum . St. Pölten 2002.

Web links

Commons : Josef Lauer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website about Josef Lauer
• Selection of Josef Lauer's works on artnet.de
• Short biography about Josef Lauer on belvedere.at