Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Archduchess Sophie, Princess of Bavaria, parents of Kaiser Franz Josef I (by 1865)
Probably Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Kaiser Franz Josef and father of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (by 1898), heir to the throne, married to Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin, Duchess of Hohenberg
Duke Max of Hohenberg
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 2010

Vienna, Österreichischer Kunstverein, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, 1865, no. 5
Vienna, Künstlerhaus,  Jubiläums Kunst-Ausstellung, Theill II, 50 Jahre österreichische Malerei, 1898, no. 77 
Vienna, Galerie Martin Suppan, F. G. Waldmüller - Eine Auswahl von Sittenbildern, 1999

Bruno Grimschitz, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Salzburg, 1957, p. 300, no. 271, catalogued & illustrated
Rupert Feuchtmüller, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller 1793 - 1865, Leben, Schriften, Werke, Vienna, 1996, p. 447, no. 297, catalogued & illustrated
Martin Suppan, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Sittenmalerei im Zeitspiegel; Waldmüllers Einfluss auf die Wiener Genremalerie des Biedermeier, Vienna, 1999,  pp. 25-31, illustrated 

The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar Ltd., of 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The artist's panel is cradled and this is providing an even structural support. There are two repaired splits to the panel running vertically approximately 11 cm from the left edge and 5 cm from the right edge. These are stable and are not visually distracting. Paint Surface The paint surface has a relatively even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a thin intermittent line of retouching corresponding to the repaired split on the left of the composition, and a further thin line corresponding the split on the right which runs down from the upper edge to the headscarf of the seated woman. There are also a few very small intermittent spots of retouching along the upper framing edge. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and would benefit from revarnishing.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted in 1830 the present work is the second version in oil of this subject. Waldmüller first explored the theme in 1828 in both oil and watercolour (Feuchtmüller nos. 248 & 249). In his catalogue raisonné, Feuchtmüller mistook the first oil version for the present work.

Diligence Rewarded is one of Waldmüller’s earliest paintings of figures in a landscape, for which he later became so renowned.  Having begun his career as a portraitist and copying the Dutch Masters to hone his skills, by the late 1827 he began to focus on the life and traditions of Austria's rural communities, blending naturalism and idealism into his own inimitable style. Compared to his contemporaries, the Romantics Caspar David Friedrich and Joseph Anton Koch, whose landscapes are expressions of the sublime, dwarfing all human staffage, Waldmüller’s are altogether more gemütlich, putting the figures and narrative at the forefront.

Here, a proud mother in festive local costume runs the blind grandfather’s hand over the medal while the boy, his writing slate, book, and quill under his arm, already has his eye on the pastry being held out to him by his grandmother. His father and mother look proudly on. The setting appears to be a valley near Pernitz, to the south west of Vienna, the peak in the background the Schneeberg. Despite the minute attention to verisimilitude – each expression is lovingly captured, the topography recognisable – Waldmüller remained faithful to the tenets of academic teaching, the staged, pyramidal structure of the figures harking back to Leonardo, Raphael, and the Renaissance masters.