(Vienna 1844–1926 Grafenegg)
“Im Bauerngarten”, on the reverse title in the artist’s own hand and several labels, oil on board, 77.5 x 94 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821-1912), Munich;
Collection Therese of Bavaria (1850-1925);
Thence by descent to Helmtrud of Bavaria (1886-1977);
Galerie Zinckgraf, Munich (No. 21121);
Kunsthaus Bühler, Stuttgart, c. end of 1950ties/beginning of 1960ties;
Private Collection Switzerland.

Exhibited:
Kunstverein Munich, 1898; annual exhibition, Glaspalast Munich, 1898 with the title “Bauerngarten”, cat. no. 1121.

Catalogued in:
Friedrich von Boetticher, Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts, Hofheim am Taunus 1979, vol. II, 2, p. 1029, no. 46.

The motif of the rustic garden is frequent in 19th-century painting, but this work by Olga Wisinger-Florian stands out from the style of her contemporaries by virtue of its unusual, almost snapshot-like detail. From a lushly overgrown hill with delicate lilac poppies the viewer looks over a simple thatched roof onto a narrow strip of tree-lined meadow. This unexpected perspective, in which a rustic garden’s typical hut is represented only by its roof, can be explained by a basic principle of Wisinger-Florian’s (more mature) oeuvre: painting directly in front of her (often accidentally discovered) motif. If a scene caught the artist’s eye during a walk, it was painted as it was found. She was not bothered by the fact that the poppy did not grow ‘properly’ in front of the house or that it was a rather shaggy, not perfectly bundled thatched roof. This way of painting, which is focused on the natural model, also caused special problems. For example, after a few days of working on the painting, Wisinger-Florian complained in her diary that the grass around the flowers had been cut (Olga Wisinger-Florian, Diary, 8 July 1897). Such small hurdles today, as charming anecdotes, bring the painting process to life. They are, however, not visible in the completed painting.

The splendour of the blossoms depicted, which swell from the still closed buds in the left foreground via individual blossoming poppies to the flowers in full bloom at the top right, captivates the viewer with the variety of its design. The application of colour on the petals is also particularly ornate and the delicate colour gradients radiating from the centre and individual flower edges, emphasised by sunlight, stand out. The individual red poppies on the right-hand edge of the picture and the lush light green of the meadow strip provide variety in the colour palette, creating a contrast between the dark green of the leaves and trees and the light flowers thickening towards the background.

When the painting was first exhibited at the Munich Kunstverein in 1898, it was met with great approval and found a famous first owner - none other than Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria. Wisinger-Florian recorded this in her diary: “Early, 8:30am, in the Kunstverein, Prince Regent came at 9 o’clock, was extremely kind and bought the purple poppy, what joy! He enjoyed everything immensely, very strong attendance, I heard only praise and more praise” (Olga Wisinger-Florian, Diary, 9 January 1898).

(Lara Bandion, BA MA)