Tomb of Frederick III at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, 1895

Rudolf von Alt (1812–1905), the greatest Austrian watercolor painter of the 19th century, repeatedly tackled the specific artistic challenges posed by Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Tomb of Frederick III at St. Stephen’s Cathedral depicts the late Gothic tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, decorated with coats of arms and statues, surrounded by a stone balustrade and located in the Apostles’ Choir of the cathedral. The ornate architecture of the tomb takes up almost two thirds of the picture. Its monumental character is emphasized by a close-up view slightly from below. To the left, the gaze of the observer is directed into the church, where an organ and a light-flooded stained glass window can be seen between the Gothic pillars. Churchgoers serve as staffage. Von Alt focuses fully on the effect of space and light. In loose brushstrokes, he captures the atmosphere of the Gothic architecture with its tracery, translating it into a shimmering interplay of light and dark.

AGW, 2022