(Vienna 1805–1845) “The Sleeping Artist”, signed and dated Jos. Danhauser 1841, oil on panel, 43 x 52 cm, framed, craddled (Rei)

Catalogued in: Veronika Birke, Josef Danhauser (1805–1845), Gemälde und Zeichnungen, exhibition of the graphic arts collection of the Albertina, Wien 1983, p. 94f. and 107f., no. 60 and 76. Provenance: Exhibition of Danhauser’s paintings in June 1845 at the Kunstverein in the Volksgarten, no. 42 (owned by the Count of Dietrichstein); Exhibition in the Künstlerhaus 1897 (Schubert Exhibition) p.166, no. 784 (The sleeping artist – the little artist, owned by Klothilde Clam-Gallas, neé Dietrichstein); Private Viennese property; The artist has fallen asleep in his chair. The children can now experiment with their father’s painting utensils unhindered. His younger son paints on the picture which is propped on the easel. The smaller child’s right arm is bent, holding a doll thrown casually over his left shoulder. The wife enters from an adjoining room and pushes the curtain to one side. There are two versions of this scene with this version, painted in 1841, being the first. Danhauser prepared design sketches and detailed studies for both versions and painted exactly according to the composition of the initial drawing. There is variation in the small child with doll and the artist in the foreground. A mezzotint of Danhauser’s painting by Andreas Geiger dated 1843 is owned by the Albertina in Vienna.