Wilhelm Bernatzik (18 May 1853 – 25 or 26 November 1906) was an Austrian painter.

Life

Bernatzik was born in

Mistelbach ''For the town in Germany, see Mistelbach, Bavaria.'' Mistelbach an der Zaya (; Mistelbach on the (River) Zaya; Central Bavarian: ''Mistlboch'') is a town in the northeast of Austria in Lower Austria, one of Austria's nine federal states. It is ...

. He was the brother of the

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

teacher Edmund Bernatzik. Initially a law student at his father's request, he studied at the Special School for

Landscape Painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

under

Eduard Peithner von Lichtenfels Eduard Peithner von Lichtenfels (18 November 1833, Vienna — 22 January 1913, Berlin) was an Austrian landscape painter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, under Franz Steinfeld and Thomas Ender. He taught landscape painting at th ...

from 1873 to 1875. In 1875, he received the Golden Füger-Medal and studied at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...

until 1878. Finally, he finished his training in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

with

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in M ...

. In 1880 he joined the

Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna’s 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betw ...

. He painted ''The Vision of St Bernhard'' in 1882 in Heiligenkreuz Abbey, having been attracted by the mood of the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

place. At the

1894 World Exhibition The Antwerp International Exposition ( nl, Wereldtentoonstelling van Antwerpen, french: Exposition Internationale d'Anvers) was a world's fair held in Antwerp, Belgium, between 5 May and 5 November 1894. It covered , attracted 3 million visit ...

in Antwerp, he won a medal (second class). In 1897 he was a founding member of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

, and served as the group's president in 1902–03. With the art critic

Julius Meier-Graefe , ro, Reșița), Resicabánya Dist., Krassó-Szörény Co, Bánság, Royal Hungary, Imperial and Royal Austria(now Romania) , death_date = , death_place = Vevey, VD, Switzerland , nationality = German, Hungarian Ge ...

he organised a successful Impressionist exhibition in Vienna in 1903. Together with the group around Gustav Klimt, he left the Secession in 1905. He died in

Hinterbrühl Hinterbrühl () is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is home to the Seegrotte, a system of caves including Europe's largest underground lake. During World War II, a satellite camp of Mauthausen concentra ...

in his brother Marx's house. He was buried in Hinterbrühl cemetery. In 1907, the Galerie Miethke in Vienna held a retrospective exhibition on his life.

Style

Bernatzik was primarily a landscape painter, taking motifs from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

and preferring to paint ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

''. During his time in Paris, he absorbed Impressionist tastes. However, he also created genre paintings, including processions in landscapes and symbolic images. He was one of the art's main representatives in Vienna at the turn of the century.

Selected works

* ''Corridor approaching Dürnstein'', (St Pölten, Niederösterreiches Landesmuseum, inventory number KS-1838), 1881, oil on canvas, 73.2×129 cm * ''The Vision of St Bernhard'' (Vienna,

Österreichische Galerie Belvedere The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere (palace), Belvedere palace, in Vienna, Austria. The Belvedere palaces were the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736). The ensemble was built in the ea ...

, inventory number 2705), 1882, oil on canvas, 105×201 cm * ''The Messenger of Salvation – Versehgang'' (St Pölten, Niederösterreiches Landesmuseum, inventory number KS-6627), 1887, oil on canvas, 91.5×186 cm * ''Winter'' (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, inventory number 797), 1888, oil on canvas, 96×78 cm * ''Bemused'' (Brno, Moravskie Galerie Brno), 1898, oil on canvas * ''Pond'' (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, inventory number 6557), 1900, oil on canvas, 100×71 cm

Gallery

File:Wilhelm Bernatzik Blick auf einen Kirchenvorplatz.jpg, ''View of a Church Square'' File:Wilhelm Bernatzik Winter 1888.jpg, ''Winter'' (1888)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernatzik, Wilhelm 1853 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 20th-century Austrian painters 20th-century Austrian male artists Austrian Impressionist painters Members of the Vienna Secession People from Mistelbach Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Art Nouveau painters