Lot 15 Dα

Rudolf von Alt was born with artistic talent and a love of travelling. His father before him was already a veduta painter and Rudolf von Alt, born in 1815, was to follow in his footsteps to become the leading exponent of this genre in Austria. His fame and international success can be seen in the geographical reach of his numerous journeys. Initially he travelled around Vienna with his father and made the obligatory trip to Italy as a young artist; then to the various regions of Austria, and soon afterwards to the extended regions of the Austrian Dual Monarchy; finally we see him travelling, exhibiting and receiving honours throughout Europe. In fact, hardly a year went by in which Rudolf von Alt does not visit, sketch, and paint a new city in watercolours and oils - Nulla dies sine linea.

In 1863, Rudolf von Alt travelled to the Crimean Peninsula on behalf of the Tsar. The following year he undertook another long journey, this time to Kissingen, Salzburg, Venice and Nuremberg. During his stay in Nuremberg, he painted the view of St Lawrence with the ‘Beautiful Fountain’. Two watercolours showing the fountain have survived, dated 26 June and 2 August 1864 (see Walter Koschatzky and Gabriela Koschatzky-Elias: Rudolf von Alt, Vienna 2001, p. 381). They illustrate how Rudolf von Alt captured the monuments of the cities he visited in drawings and watercolours in order to later turn them into paintings.