Karl von Blaas

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Karl von Blaas, lithograph by Adolf Dauthage , ca.1880
Karl von Blaas, self-portrait

Karl von Blaas (born April 28, 1815 in Nauders , Austrian Empire , † March 19, 1894 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary ) was an Austrian history and genre painter .

Life

Honorary grave in the Vienna Central Cemetery

Karl von Blaas came from a poor, aristocratic background. His uncle, Freiherr von Eschenburg, recognized his talent as a painter early on and enabled him to attend the Academy in Venice from 1832. After his academic years, Karl von Blaas stayed in Florence and Rome, where he was strongly influenced by Friedrich Overbeck . In 1851 he followed a call as professor for history painting at the Academy in Vienna . During this time he painted the frescoes in the Altlerchenfeld parish church . In 1855 he received a prize at the World Exhibition in Paris for his painting "Charlemagne visits the boys' school". In the same year he became a professor at the Venice Academy .

Blaas was also active as a genre and portrait painter, but preferred religious motifs himself. The frescoes in the church in Fót (Hungary) are also by Blaas. The oriental painter Leopold Carl Müller is one of his students in Vienna . His sons Eugene de Blaas (1843–1931) and Julius von Blaas (1845–1922) were also genre and history painters. In 1895, Blaasstraße in Vienna- Döbling (19th district) was named after him.

Main work

Hall of Fame of the Army History Museum with the frescoes by Karl von Blaas
Detail of the frescoes in the Hall of Fame

The main work of Karl von Blaas are the frescoes with the most important scenes of the history of Austria in the hall of fame of the "Imperial and Royal Court Weapons Museum" , ie the present day Army History Museum . The contract was only given to Carl Rahl by the lead architect, Theophil von Hansen , after completion of the Vienna arsenal , as Hansen's designs seemed to be a congenial addition to his building. However, Emperor Franz Joseph I intervened personally, who preferred the history painter Blaas, not least on the recommendation of his brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian . The imperial specifications were very precise: "... only things that are truly worthy of glory, that are significant and that really happened" were allowed to be expressed; only that epoch had to be considered “in which an Austrian army as such came into reality, namely the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, from which therefore the greatest deeds of the army which had a decisive effect on the history of Austria came about View to come ” .

Blaas decorated the dome of this mighty hall with scenes from the Babenberg era , namely the storming of Melk by Margrave Leopold I of Babenberg , Margrave Leopold III. the Holy , the imperial crown back , Emperor Frederick Barbarossa invested in 1156 the Babenberg Henry II. Jasomirgott with Austria and the Saxon Duke Henry the Lion of Bavaria and Duke Leopold VI. the glorious as a patron of the arts and sciences .

The four large wall arches depict great victories of the imperial army , namely the battle of Nördlingen in 1634, the council of war in the battle of St. Gotthard in 1664, the battle of Zenta in 1697 and the relief of Turin in 1706; in the adjoining room on the left, the events from the reigns of Maria Theresa and Joseph II up to the capture of Belgrade in 1789; In the right adjoining room, the Napoleonic Wars from the Battle of Würzburg in 1796 to the Tyrolean struggle for freedom of 1809 to the armistice negotiations between Field Marshal Radetzky and King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia after the Battle of Novara in 1849.

The work took a total of 14 years (1858–1872). During an air raid on the arsenal by the US Air Force on September 10 and December 11, 1944, the main building of the Army History Museum was hit by several bombs. Two frescoes in the side halls of the Hall of Fame were destroyed and the main fresco in the dome was badly damaged. Since the artist's designs were preserved, the frescoes by Max von Poosch (1872–1968) could be restored after the war.

Other works (selection)

literature

Web links

Commons : Karl von Blaas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Army History Museum: 100 Years of the Army History Museum. Known and unknown about its history , Vienna 1991.
personal data
SURNAME Blaas, Karl von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian painter
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1815
PLACE OF BIRTH Nauders
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1894
Place of death Vienna