(Untermieger 1824–1871 St. Ruprecht near Klagenfurt)
The white-lead factory of the Puntschart family in Ebental/ Klagenfurt, inscribed on the reverse Ebental bei Klagenfurt,
oil on canvas, 53 x 93 cm, framed (frame damaged), (Rei)

Provenance:
Collection of Franz Georg Puntschart (1816–1872), Limmersach near Klagenfurt, directly acquired from the artist;
his heirs;
Private Collection, Vienna.

Markus Pernhart, who travelled so often through Carinthia, had befriended most of the region’s industrialists, whom he had met during his trips, and thus often commissioned to paint or draw their establishments.
Represented here is the white lead factory in Ebenthal, a sister-establishment to the one opened in St Veith by Franz Puntschart (died in 1890) in 1858. The business was granted several awards for the quality of its product until it was closed in 1890. Lot 1369 shows us a view to the east, with the Magdalensberg in the distance, while Lot 1370 is directed to the south, in front of the Hochobir and Schloß Ebenthal.

Industrialisation in the 19th century drastically changed the country as Pernhart’s contemporaries knew it. Here, industry is the main subject of the landscape and the mountains are secondary, in the background. Because the factory is raised to the main protagonist, at the same level as any historical site would have been, these paintings are, even if depicted in a charming, traditional way, much more modern than they first appear.