Wien-Innere Stadt - Stadtpark - Canon-Denkmal II

Hans Canon was the pseudonym of Johann Baptist Strašiřipka (also rendered as Johann Baptist Straschiripka or Hans Purschka-Straschiripka (15 March 1829,

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

12 September 1885, Vienna) an Austrian history and portrait painter.

Life

His father was related to the princely Starhemberg family and served as an Economic Councilor. He seems to have been an indifferent student, but he did show an interest in art so, in 1845, he was enrolled 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 ...

for a brief stay, then studied privately with

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (; 15 January 1793 – 23 August 1865) was an Austrian painter and writer. Waldmüller was one of the most important Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period. Career In 1807, Waldmüller attended the Academy o ...

and

Carl Rahl Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl (13 August 1812 – 9 July 1865), was an Austrian painter. Life Rahl was born in Vienna to Carl Heinrich Rahl (1779–1843), an engraver. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and won a prize at ...

. From 1847 to 1855, before completing his studies, he became an officer in the Austro-Hungarian

Common Army The Common Army (german: Gemeinsame Armee, hu, Közös Hadsereg) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two eleme ...

and served as a

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

in the Hungarian Campaign."Hans Canon"
in the

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, conta ...

, Zamarski, Vienna (1879) Vol.39 Hans Canon Mädchen mit Papagei 1876 Wien, Österreichische Galerie

His later service in the artillery appears to have provided inspiration for the name "Canon" (although the word may have other meanings), which he began using after Slavic names became a handicap, due to the various separatist movements active in the Empire at that time. After his obligations and studies were over, he travelled to England, France, Italy (which, unlike most Northern Europeans of the time, he did not find attractive) and the Middle East. Upon his return, he accompanied

Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek Count Johann (Hans) Nepomuk Wilczek (german: Hans Graf Wilczek; 7 December 1837 – 27 January 1922) was an Austrian arctic explorer and patron of the arts. He was the main sponsor of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition in 1872–74. Li ...

(who was not only a patron of the arts, but an explorer as well) on a trip to London to help purchase animals for the

Schönbrunn Zoo Schönbrunn Zoo (; also simply called Vienna Zoo) is a 17-hectare (42-acre) zoo in the city of Vienna, Austria. Established in 1752, it is the world’s oldest zoo still in operation. It is also a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site, ...

. From 1860 to 1869, he lived in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

then, after getting married, moved to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

where he stayed until 1874, when the success of his paintings at the Vienna World's Fair (one was purchased by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

) induced him to return home. In 1875, his connections with Wilczek earned him a major commission to portray the men and vessels of the

Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition The Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition was an Arctic expedition to find the North-East Passage that ran from 1872 to 1874 under the leadership of Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht. The expedition discovered and partially explored Franz Josef La ...

, for which task he went to

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

, working from the original subjects and photographs. He went on to specialize in portraits, including many members of the royal family. Der Kreislauf des Lebens, Hans Canon

In addition to his canvases, he created a series of monumental paintings in several public buildings on or near the

Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where ...

. The best known of these is the colossal "Circle of Life", in the

Vienna Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

. A further commission for the museum was cut short when he died suddenly, apparently from an

aortic dissection Aortic dissection (AD) occurs when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart. In most cases, this is associated with a sudden onset of severe chest or ...

. He is buried in the

Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery (german: Evangelischer Friedhof Matzleinsdorf), Matzleinsdorf Evangelical Cemetery is a historic Protestant cemetery located in the Favoriten district of Vienna, the capital city of Austria. History and details Throughout the centuries, the Vi ...

. In 1891, a street was named after him in the

Favoriten Favoriten (; Central Bavarian: ''Favoritn''), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 10. Bezirk, Favoriten), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populate ...

district of Vienna. A commemorative postage stamp with his portrait was issued by the Austrian Post in 1948.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Canon

"Hans Canon"
in the catalog of the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canon, Hans 1829 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters Austrian people of Czech descent Artists from Vienna People from Leopoldstadt

Life

References

Further reading

External links