(Pleß 1818–1897 Semmering)
Prince Eugene Sends the Emperor News of the Victory at Zenta after the Battle of Zenta, circa 1860, oil on canvas, 132 x 167 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
Estate of Eduard Ritter von Engerth
The artist’s niece, Lotte Degenhart, neé Freiin Engerth (handwritten note dated 30.10.1965)

Catalogued in: Engerth Ruediger: Eduard Ritter von Engerth (1818 – 1897), Maler, Lehrer, Galeriedirektor und Kunstschriftsteller, Beiträge zu Leben und Werk, research and articles on the history of the city of Vienna, Volume 26, published by Deuticke, Vienna 1994, p.49
Schickh, Richard Edler von: Eduard v. Engerth : Beiträge zu einer Biographie des Künstlers und seines Kreises, Schroll, Vienna 1915, p. 103?

The present lot is an oil study for the monumental painting of the same name which E.v.Engerth began in 1860 and completed in 1865. In contrast to earlier assumptions, the painting was not incinerated in 1945 but is instead in Budapest, in the Hungarian National Museum (Inv. no. 92.5 B, oil on canvas, 510 x 760 cm). The current study is recorded in the literature in 1915 although to date its location was unknown.

The finished painting was one of Engerth’s main works, and was exhibited in the Redoutensaal in the Hofburg in 1865. It was enthusiastically received by the public, so much so that, in a letter to Engerth, art historian and Universitätsprofessor R. Eitelberger describes it as the best historical painting he had ever seen in Vienna by an Austrian artist. On 4 October Emperor Francis Joseph I bought the painting for the princely sum of 15,000 gulden on the understanding that it would be held in Buda Castle in Budapest, a location of historical significance for the painting. It was thus the most expensive painting ever acquired by Emperor Francis Joseph I during his reign, and is regarded as the most expensive painting belonging to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In 1867 the Austrian jury selected the work for the International Exposition in Paris.

It is fairly certain that Engerth’s inspiration for the work came from the 3-volume biography of Prince Eugene compiled in 1858 by the Viennese historian Alfred von Arneth. This work was based on precise contemporary sketches, enabling Engerth to portray those involved and their features with some precision. Engerth was no battle painter in the traditional sense, hence his choice of a calmer moment, shortly after the battle, which allowed him to focus on the details.
The battle is over: “Now he (Ed. Prince Eugene) calls together those generals fighting under the Austrian banner to the major entrenchment to thank God and announce the victory.”
Prince Eugene (ill.1 - 1) stands at the centre of the painting, standing, almost god-fearing, with one foot on a Ottoman trophy, looking towards heaven and just about to announce the victory to his troops. This is a detail that Engerth would significantly alter in the final version which shows Prince Eugene having already announced the victory and swinging his hat. The final version is more dynamic in several aspects: the entrenchment is much higher, Field Marshal Karl von Lothringen-Commercy (2) stands at the rear left, rather than to Eugene’s right, between Count Guido Starhemberg (3) who is returning his rapier to its sheath, and the old and experienced FZM Boerner (4). Wounded on his head and leg in battle, Count Sigbert Heister (5) sits on a camp chair to the right in front of an Ottoman cannon which has been destroyed. Behind him we see FZM Count Reuss (6) in a long wig and armour. Prince Carl Thomas von Vaudemont (7), who Eugene has ordered to bring news of the victory to Emperor Leopold I in Vienna, is riding the horse, the victory dispatch held high. The only person visible in this study, but not in the final version, is Cavalry General Count Johann Ludwig von Rabutin-Bussy (8). There is only speculation as to why his relevance to the battle (he had jointly commanded the left flank together with Starhemberg) was subsequently ignored. The Battle of Zenta (on the Theiß) on 11 September 1697 was an important victory over the Ottoman army in the Great Ottoman Wars. It was regarded as one of the greatest triumphs of Austrian military history. Its immediate consequence was the Treaty of Karlowitz, signed in 1699 after 2 years of negotiation. Many renowned Austrian artists took the victory at Zenta as a motif for their works.

Literature:
Engerth Ruediger: Eduard Ritter von Engerth (1818 – 1897), Maler, Lehrer, Galeriedirektor und Kunstschriftsteller, Beiträge zu Leben und Werk, Research and articles on the history of Vienna, Volume 26, published by Deuticke, Vienna 1994

Engerth Ruediger: Eduard von Engerth, catalogue for the 229th special exhibition of the Wien Museum, 18 September to 16 November 1997, published by the Museen der Stadt Wien, Vienna 1997

Telsko, Werner: Die Mythfizierung des Sieges – die Schlacht bei Zenta 1697, In: Kulturraum Österreich: die Identität der Regionen in der bildenden Kunst des 19. Jahrhunderts, published by Böhlau, Vienna 2008, p. 23 – 25

Arneth, Alfred Ritter von: Prinz Eugen von Savoyen. Nach den handschriftlichen Quellen der kaiserlichen Archive. 3 Volumes. Typographisch-Literarische-Künstlerische Anstalt, Vienna 1858, Vol.1 p.101-105

additional picture:
Jenö Doby, Stahlstich nach dem Gemälde von Eduarth von Engerth (Archiv Dorotheum)