Small Alley in Stein an der Donau, 1920

Eduard Zetsche (1844–1927) immerses the viewer in the atmosphere of Stein on the Danube River in Lower Austria at the beginning of the 20th century. At the end of the downward leading alley, run through by a trickle of a watercourse, some locals can be vaguely made out. Zetsche’s emphasis, however, is on the depiction of the weathered facades and the rutted alley. The watercolor from 1920 is kept in cool, earthy colors, with light reflections enlivening the picture. Zetsche was a member of the Künstlerhaus and the newly founded Watercolorists’ Club based there. When choosing sites for his studies, he preferred familiar areas close to home such as the Vienna Woods, the Danube and the Waldviertel, where he found his most popular motifs—castles, old walls, alleys, and streams.

AGW, 2021