Ignaz Unterberger (24 July 1748,
Cavalese
Cavalese (''Cavalés'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' of 4,004 inhabitants in Trentino, northern Italy, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (Magnificent Community of Fiemme) a ...
– 4 December 1797,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
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, postal_code =
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) was an Italian and Austrian painter and printmaker, who was also an inventor. He was a member of a large dynasty of Tyrolean artists.
Biography
Unterberger was probably born on 24 July 1748 in Gaßlöss (now called
Cavalese
Cavalese (''Cavalés'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' of 4,004 inhabitants in Trentino, northern Italy, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (Magnificent Community of Fiemme) a ...
), located in the
County of Tyrol
The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised pr ...
, today in Italy. His initial artistic instruction came from his uncle
Franz Sebald Unterberger
Franz Sebald Unterberger, or Unterperger (1 August 1706, Cavalese - 23 January 1776, Cavalese) was a South Tyrolean painter in the Baroque style.
Biography
His father, Christoph Unterberger (1668–1747), was an Imperial forest warden. His gra ...
(1706-1776). Unterberger Senior taught his nephew the style of the Tyrol. This was High
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
- famed for intricate church altarpieces, sculpture and frescoes. Artists working in Vienna and
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
found themselves training in Rome, including Ignaz's elder brother.
Christoph Unterberger (1732-1798)'s influence as a member of the
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...
provided Ignaz with access to a pivotal group of Italian artists when he arrived in Rome in 1769. His ability to capture the Italian style was such that his painting 'Maternal Love' was thought to have been
Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
's.
Unterberger was a highly capable artist, with experience in creating frescoes, altarpiece paintings,
bambocciata and marble work. The artist stated that he only painted for a livelihood, but
printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
was his real passion. Unterberger's printmaking is not particularly well-known, although some of his prints were included in the British Museum's 1994 exhibition and catalogue 'Printmaking in the Age of Goethe'. He did not engage in printmaking until he returned to
Vienna
en, Viennese
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from Rome in 1773, when he applied himself exclusively to the
mezzotint
Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...
. His inventions included an excavating machine for digging
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s, a foot-pedal for the
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
, and a machine for preparing mezzotint plates.
Unterberger was never made a member of the Academy in Vienna, despite exhibiting there. Nevertheless his work was highly regarded, and the Imperial Chancellor
Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg
Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (german: Wenzel Anton Reichsfürst von Kaunitz-Rietberg, cz, Václav Antonín z Kounic a Rietbergu; 2 February 1711 – 27 June 1794) was an Austrian and Czech diplomat and statesman in the Habsburg mona ...
was a patron. His painting ''Hebe'' (1795) was a sensation for its lighting effects, and bought by
Emperor Francis II
Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
for a large amount. He was also made a ''Royal and Imperial Court Painter''. Unfortunately, he only benefited from this role for two years before heart failure lead to his death on 4 December 1797, leaving a widow and nine children.
[Griffiths and Carey]
Notes
References
* G. Briganti, ''La Pittura in Italia. Il Settecento'', Milan, 1990, II, pp. 889–90, with bibliography.
* A. Griffiths and F. Carey, ''German Printmaking in the Age of Goethe'', London, 1994, pp. 90–93
* Grant, Sarah (2014). 'The Ornament Prints of Ignaz Unterberger' in ''Print Quarterly''. Volume XXXI. pp. 280–293
External links
Ignaz Unterberger@ the Masonic Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unterberger
1748 births
1797 deaths
18th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
People from Cavalese
18th-century Italian male artists