(Vienna 1812–1905)
“Wien-Dornbacher Boulevard and Alsbach-Einwölbung”, 1875, signed and dated in the sheet R. Alt 875, two labels on the mount: “Architectur-Bureau, Friedrich König & Rud. Feldscharek” and “Ueber Anregung des Gemeinde-Vorstandes von Hernals durch die Union - Bau - Gesellschaft ausgearbeitet nach dem Projecte des behördlich autorisirten Civil-Ingenieurs Frierich Stach, Director der Union-Bau-Gesellschaft.”, watercolour on paper, 87 x 120.5 (mat window), original frame

Provenance:
Private Collection, Austria

Friedrich König (1842-1906) and Rudolf Feldscharek (1845-1919) opened a joint architectural practice in 1874, having already made a name for themselves with buildings and interiors in the neo-Gothic style (among other things they designed the Villa Paulick on Lake Attersee, where Gustav Klimt would later spend his summer holidays). The two architects soon turned to Rudolf von Alt to visualise their projects. Von Alt is known to have made several architectural prospectuses in the 1870s, but only a few of this size.
This watercolour presented him with an unusual and challenging task: he was to render the large-scale project, a connecting road between Vienna and the suburbs of Dornbach and Hernals along with their neighbouring developments, in a vividly illustrative manner and from a bird’s eye view encompassing the entire urban area of Vienna.
In 1875, the smaller suburbs behind the former city wall had not yet been incorporated into the city, but negotiations were underway and large construction companies such as Bau-Union were already working out precise plans. A prerequisite for the incorporation of Dornbach had been the enclosure of the Als stream, which was begun in 1873 and completed in 1899. This resulted in one of the widest boulevards in Vienna, today’s Hernalser Hauptstraße.

The architects planned a magnificent straight avenue with buildings, villas and gardens, which the painter depicted vividly in this watercolour with many charming individual details, such as the horse-drawn tramway that connected Dornbach with Vienna from 1865. Alt also reproduced the recognisable neo-Gothic church in two other, smaller, watercolours commissioned by the architects (cf. Wien Museum and Dorotheum, sale on 28. 4. 2014, no. 274). Alt creates a subtle but effective detail through the use of light: over large parts of the city, clouds work to darken or dim the light; attention is drawn to the new boulevard, the only spot to lie in bright sunlight.

The development of what would later become the 17th district ended up taking a different course. Rudolf von Alt’s impressive architectural prospectus is therefore a unique document offering a visionary yet utopian view of the Vienna that could have been.