Anton Faistauer

Sale: Christie's, South Kensington, 20 March 1995, lot 99
Purchased at the above sale by the father of the present owner

Franz Fuhrmann, Anton Faistauer, 1887-1930, Salzburg, 1972, p. 134, no. 92, catalogued; n.p., illustrated (as Hohlweg)
Anton Faistauer 1887-1930, (exh. cat.), Salzburg, Salzburger Museum Carolino Augusteum, 2005, p. 113, illustrated

The canvas has been relined. There are localised small areas of fine paint shrinkage associated with the artist's thicker impasto. Ultraviolet light reveals some scattered strokes of retouching localised primarily near the framing edges, and some minor strokes in the upper-right quadrant and in a branch near the upper edge to the left. The overall appearance of the work is good and it is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame. The colours in reality are warmer and less blue overall than in the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1914, A Forest Path is a particularly fine example of Anton Faistauer's landscape paintings. Together with Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, Faistauer was a pioneer of modern art in Austria at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was particularly inspired by the work of Cézanne.

In 1906 Faistauer entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, but left in 1909  due to disagreements with his professor, Christian Griepenkerl, who was opposed to all innovation in the visual arts.  He left the Academy together with fellow students and friends Egon Schiele (who was to become his brother-in-law), Franz Wiegele and Robin Christian Andersen in protest at the school’s conservative teaching methods. They founded the Neukunstgruppe (New Art Group), which held its first exhibition that year at the Vienna Salon Pisko, and another in Prague the following year. The group remained only loosely connected thereafter.

Faistauer soon found success in Austria and in 1914 was invited to exhibit at Gallerie Cassirer in Berlin. The onset of the First World War prevented the artist’s exhibition at Cassirer and with it the international acclaim Faistauer had hoped to gain. Undeterred, he continued to paint throughout the war years and in 1918 he and Felix Albrecht Harta founded a progressive artists' association in Salzburg called Wassermann.

The son of a farmer, Faistauer was a great lover of nature, excelling in landscape and still-life painting. During the First World War, painting sunlit landscapes such as A Forest Path provided a respite from the turmoil of the conflict.