(Berlin 1778–1856 Rome)
Rudolf of Habsburg and the priest, 1818, oil on canvas, 73.5 x 100 cm, framed, slightly damaged, (W)

Exhibited:
Franz Ludwig Catel. Italienbilder der Romantik, Hamburger Kunsthalle, 16 October 2015 - January 2016.

Compare:
Franz Ludwig Catel, The Count of Habsburg giving his horse to a priest, 1818, pen and brush in brown, heightened with white, 44 x 59 cm, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Graphische Sammlung, Frankfurt am Main, inv. no. 6859.

Franz Ludwig Catel, originally trained as a wood sculptor and graphic artist, later devoted himself to landscape painting. After travelling extensively and training in Berlin and Paris, in 1811 he went to Rome, where he joined the circle of artists around Joseph Anton Koch. His landscapes are characterised by picturesque motifs of Italian country life, and he focused on the depiction of staffage figures, which became the main subject of his works. Thus, his landscapes take on a touch of genre scenes. In addition to these he illustrated histories, as in the present lot.
The painting describes the legendary event from the life of Rudolf of Habsburg: following the snowmelt in the spring, a stream after a snowy winter caused flooding, as a result of which a bridge was torn away. A priest who had been called to a sick man to give him his last rites was therefore not able to cross the creek. On the way back from hunting, Count Rudolf I of Habsburg and his servant also arrived at this place. Rudolf handed over his horse to the priest so that he could cross the stream on the animal’s back. When the priest wanted to return the horse, Rudolf gave him the animal. Because of this generous deed, according to legend, the clergyman prophesied the rise and prosperity of the House of Habsburg. Friedrich Schiller used this legend in his ballad ‘Der Graf von Habsburg’. Catel depicts the moment when Rudolf gives his horse to the priest and he begins to cross the stream.