Fritz Schider (1846 - 1907)

Schider’s artistic talent was already evident during his time at secondary school in Linz. His father was opposed to his becoming an artist, but having entered the mining school in Leoben, he moved to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1865 and, encouraged by his friend Hans Makart, moved with him to Munich in 1866 to continue his studies at the Royal Academy there. His visit to the first international exhibition, in 1869, proved a lasting influence – particularly the works of Gustave Courbet and Wilhelm Leibl. Schider’s works from this period mark a turning-point, with light, fresh colours – such as in the impressionistic painting At the Chinese Tower –, quite different from Makart’s golden-brown creations. From 1876, Schider taught at the drawing and modelling school in Basel, and in 1877 he married Leibl’s niece Lina. In 1896, the University of Basel awarded him an honorary doctorate in medicine and surgery for his work on illustrations for the Plastisch-anatomischen Atlas für Akademien, Kunstschulen und zum Selbstunterricht.

Author: Ducke Astrid

Literature: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg. I Ed.): Face to Face. Österreichische Porträtmalerei des 19. Jahrhunderts. 19th-century Austrian portrait painting. Residenzgalerie Salzburg I -DomQuartier Salzburg 6.6.-29.9.2025. Salzburg 2025, S. I p. 170