(Vienna 1842–1926)
A View of Vienna from the Nussberg, signed Hlavacek, oil on canvas, 66.5 x 96.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Vienna;
Dorotheum, Vienna, 16 September 1969, lot 69;
Where acquired in 1969.

Compare:
Dorotheum Vienna, 8 June 2020, 19th Century Paintings, lot 719.

The painting shown here is a smaller variant of Anton Hlavácek’s impressive painting ‘The Imperial City on the Danube’, depicting Vienna from the Nussberg, which the artist produced from 1877 onwards, as a result of a commission from the Ministry of Culture and Education. Measuring 430 x 730 cm, it took several years to create. Various public institutions had plans to purchase it, but they failed time and again due to a lack of funds until it was finally purchased from the artist for the City of Vienna under Mayor Karl Lueger in 1902. Today, it can be found in the Wien Museum under inventory number 24.222.
Although considerably smaller in size, this variant, or preliminary study, is also striking in its expression and colourfulness. The panorama of the city spreads out from the Nussberg, with the wide bed of the Danube in shades of blue and green on the left. In the foreground, a group of riders approaches, and a shepherd leads a few sheep aside to let them pass. The freshness and immediacy of the present work are probably due to Hlavácek’s impression directly on the spot.