(Vienna 1845–1916)
A brewing storm over Haslau, signed, dated and inscribed T. Blau Haslau 1872, oil on canvas, 52.5 x 46.5 cm, framed, (W)

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Online archive, Tina Blau, Belvedere, CR GE 149

Provenance:
Collection of Count Anton Wolkenstein-Trostburg (1832-1913), Vienna – Ivano Castle near Trento;
His sale, Leo Schidlof, Vienna, 21 June 1920, lot 25;
Albert Kende, Vienna, 18 October 1933, lot 470;
Private Collection, Austria.

The landscape painter Tina Blau, whose paintings count amongst the first Austrian impressionistic works, did what scarcely any other woman had done before her: she painted en plain air. This may not sound exceptional at first, but if we consider the conditions of her times, it was a novelty. There were, certainly, many women who drew and painted, but they could not, like their male colleagues, undertake trips and expeditions alone, because it seemed unthinkable for the time. Thus, nature as an immediate subject for artistic work remained barred to them. Even to study at the Academy was for a long time impossible for women, who were refused entry and so had to take instruction privately or to educate themselves.
Tina Blau travelled to various countries alone from an early age. However, it is not only this state of emancipation that made her so unique as an artistic figure. Her modern interpretations in the depiction of landscapes secured her reputation as one of the most important representatives of Austrian Impressionists, known as “Stimmungsimpressionisten”. The motif of Haslau, as in the present work, occupied Tina Blau particularly in the 1870s, during the regulation of the Danube. From 1872 onwards, Tina Blau maintained lively relations with Jakob Schindler and his colleagues, whom she met in Maria Ellend and Haslau, whilst the works on the Danube were being carried out. That summer brought to light interesting developments in the works of several artists: Tina Blau’s painting of a sandy embankment in Haslau seems like a work composed entirely of light and shadow, wholly concerned with the representation of atmosphere and landscape.
The dramatic effect of brewing bad weather in the present painting of 1872 is achieved through various stylistic devices: the impasto brushstrokes and choice of colour palette strengthen the impression of an approaching storm. The short brushstrokes equally suggest movement and convey the appearance of a wind growing ever stronger before the storm sets in. Tina Blau is thus able to create a sense of drama with only a few compositional moves.