The Grossvenediger

After Archduke Johann’s failed attempt to scale the Grossvenediger in 1828, the first successful ascent took place in 1841.
First ascents and the accessibility of the Alps coincided with the prime of Alpine painting. After 1848, Hansch attracted the interest of the Imperial family. Archduke Franz Carl (1802–1878) became his patron. During extreme mountain tours he undertook, the artist produced around a thousand sketches and drawings. A large collection of them, purchased by Emperor Franz Joseph to support the artist after his financial ruin in the stock market crash of 1873, are now in the Kupferstichkabinett der Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna.
In his depiction of the Grossvenediger, Hansch achieved a magnificently artistic mise en-scène of an Alpine spectacle, far exceeding mere topography. The depth and vastness of the backdrop together with the theatrical light effects enhance the grandeur of the majestic summit, making it a synonym for the nobility of Creation. Tiny figures crouching on the Gernkogel mountain with a view of the Großvenediger, Hohen Fürlegg, Großer Geiger, Schliefer and Dreiherrenspitze mountains illustrate the perspective of the landscape. As opposed to studies of nature painted in a loose, flowing style, this large-scale painting was executed in an academic manner. Influenced by the Swiss Alexandre Calame (1810– 1864), Hansch painted large-scale Alpine landscapes in his latter years.

OEHRING Erika: Hansch Anton, The Grossvenediger, in: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, p. 148