(Vienna 1845–1916) “By the artist‘s studio, Prater 1907”, signed T. Blau, oil on canvas, 90 x 105 cm, framed, (Rei)

Exhibited: “PleinAir” Die Landschaftsmalerin Tina Blau (1845–1916), Jewish Museum Vienna, 12th July-8th September 1996. Catalogued and illustrated in: Tobias Natter (publisher), exhibition catalogue PleinAir, Die Landschaftsmalerin Tina Blau (1845–1916), Vienna 1996, p.146. Tobias Natter and Claus Jesina, Tina Blau (1845–1916), Salzburg 1999, p.67. Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 22nd November 1989, no. 399; Private Viennese property. Ever since her student days, Tina Blau was repeatedly drawn to the landscape of the Prater, a preference which was strengthened by Emil Jakob Schindler, one of a string of open air artists who had discovered the Prater as their studio. After her studies in Munich, she worked from time to time with Schindler at a state-owned studio in the Prater, one which he had been allocated around 1876/77. This shared studio arrangement lasted only a short time, for by 1879 at the latest, Blau had taken over the lease of the Prater studio and gone her own way artistically. A tour of Italy in the spring of 1879 resulted in a lightening of her palette, and a rolling back of the grey glazes and shadings which were so characteristic of Schindler‘s own painting. During the painter‘s last creative period a solidification of the body becomes apparent, and with it a stronger accentuation of plasticity. The paint is applied more thickly. (Compare G. Tobias Natter, Claus Jesina, Tina Blau (1845–1916), Salzburg 1999, p. 36, 38; Ludwig Hevesi, Österreichische Malerei des Stimmungsrealismus, Mürzzuschlag 1994, exhibition catalogue, p. 220). Claus Jesina describes the paintings as follows: “Her interest in the plasticity of the surfaces in the light increases greatly, and the consummation of the composition upwards, through the treetops, is continued. In this Prater scene, this development appears to have been perfected. The chief element in the painting’s composition is the sense of depth; simultaneously the vertical lineament of the tree trunks is strongly accentuated. Great importance is lent to the plastic effect given to the surface of the tree trunks, together with a certain pastosity. (G. Tobias Natter, Claus Jesina, op. cit. p. 38.)