Road into Dürnstein, 1913

In the summer of 1913, the newly-weds Anton Faistauer (1887–1930) and Ida Andersen spent a holiday together in the Lower-Austrian Wachau region. At the time, Faistauer was rediscovering his veneration of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) whose works had inspired him in his youth to become a painter himself. It was the place where some of his most outstanding landscapes were created, like this Road into Dürnstein and Wachau Landscape. The uphill road runs between vineyards into the small town of Dürnstein. The horizon rises to the right, and behind and above a complexly composed landscape of light and friendly earth tones and color harmonies the bright blue sky of a hot summer day unfolds. And yet, the landscape appears distant, as there is not a soul, human or animal, that animates it.

RR, 2021