The artist Emil Jakob Schindler (1842–1892), who is considered the main exponent of Austrian Atmospheric Impressionism, took frequent trips, for instance in the winter of 1887/88 to Istria and Dalmatia. He was accompanied by his pupil Carl Moll (1861–1945), his wife and two daughters, the older of whom became widely known as Alma Mahler-Werfel (1879–1964). The artist created several renderings of the city Ragusa, including
Coast near Ragusa, and was especially interested in the spray of the waves hitting the shore. In the work
Surf at Ragusa he compellingly captured the atmosphere of the raging sea with a sketch-like and spontaneous manner of painting. This depiction of the force of nature, which seems unusual for his oeuvre, was created in the context of his illustrations for the
Kronprinzenwerk [The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Word and Picture] initiated by Crown Prince Rudolf: In the volume on the climatic conditions within the Empire, the wind known as Sirocco, which hits Dalmatia from the South, is illustrated with a similar study by Schindler.
AGW, 2021