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Modern Cupids, Triptych, Central Panel, 1868

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Oil on canvas
292×167 cm

Artists

  • Hans Makart

    (Salzburg 1840–1884 Vienna)

Currently on display at OG4
Following a period of experimenting, during which he developed his characteristic, brilliant colors, Hans Makart (1840–1884) presented his first sensational painting with the 1868 work Modern Cupids. From then on, Makart’s artistic strategy included large-scale formats and exhibition tours across Europe. Almost twenty years later, Carl von Lützow (1832–1897) recalled Makart buying canvases by the meter and paints by the pound. The rendering Modern Cupids is a three-part work, known as a triptych (Greek for “three folds”). The two horizontal side panels show dancing children (or young women), while the vertical central painting depicts a triumphal procession of nymphs and young satyrs. The discrepancy between the youthful bodies and older heads, which was commented on already by Makart’s contemporaries, allows for alternating interpretations of the figures as nymphs and children. The merry scenes are set within a vegetation-rich natural landscape. The background is dominated by scintillating gold.

Text Leopold Museum

Object data

Artist/author
Title
Modern Cupids, Triptych, Central Panel
Date
1868
Art movement
Historicism
Category
Painting
Material​/technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
292×167 cm
Signature
Signed lower right: Hans Makart
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 6575, Donation from a Private Collection
Inventory access
Accession 2021
Selection of Reference works
  • 20 Jahre Leopold Museum 2001-2021, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2021.
  • Gerbert Frodl: Hans Makart. Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, hrsg. von Agnes Husslein-Arco, Weitra 2013.
  • Gerbert Frodl: Hans Makart. Monographie und Werkverzeichnis, Salzburg 1974.
Catalogue raisonne
  • Frodl 1974: 94/1–3
  • Frodl 2013: 116/1-3
Keywords
woman/girlcupidsgardenflowersnymphhare

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Sammlung Graf János Pálffy-Erdöd (1829–1908), Schloss Králova/Königshaiden, Ankauf direkt vom Künstler 1868;
ErbInnen nach Graf János Pálffy-Erdöd (1909-1924);
Auktion: 30.06.1924, Ostslovakisches Museum, Bad Pistyan, Los 15 und 16 (nur die beiden Seitenteile);
Kunsthandel Tschechoslowakei;
Otokar (geb. 1882) und Melanie Tuma (geb. 1885), Prag;
im Erbgang an deren Tochter Adrienne (1914–1994), verh. Gräfin Waldstein-Wartenberg;
im Tauschweg an Marie Gräfin Bossi-Fedrigotti (geb. Gräfin Waldstein-Wartenberg, 1878–1950) bzw. deren Tochter Marie Gräfin Trapp, Schloss Friedberg, Tirol;
Verkauf an das Hotel Maria-Theresia, Innsbruck, Mitte/Ende der 1940er Jahre;
Bank Austria Kunstsammlung, Wien (1978-2005); (1)
UniCredit Bank Austria AG, Wien (2005-2021);
Auktion: 07.06.2021, Dorotheum Wien, Gemälde des 19. Jahrhunderts, Los Nr. 541
Privatbesitz, Wien (2021);
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 2021); (2)

  1. Dorotheum Wien, Online-Katalog: https://www.dorotheum.com/de/l/7201639/ (Mai 2021); Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Katalog zu Hans Makart. Malerfürst (1840-1884), Wien 2000; S. 28 „Moderne Amoretten“.
  2. Schenkungsvertrag vom 07.06.2021

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woman/girlcupidsgardenflowersnymphhare