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The image depicts a scene in an indoor setting. In the foreground, several people are sitting. A man in dark clothing sits on a chair, holding his head. Next to him is a woman with a child by her side, and another child stands on her other side. Another man in a light suit and a tall hat stands nearby, pointing a finger at something in the room while holding a hat. In the background, there are more people visible, including a policeman standing at a table and occupied with a jug. One person is l…

Oberes Belvedere
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The Distraint
Date1840

Artist Peter Fendi (1796 Wien – 1842 Wien)

ULAN

Object typePainting
MediumOil on cardboard
Dimensions
36 × 45 cm
SignatureSign. und dat. unten links: Fendi / 1840.
Inventory number5129
Location Upper Belvedere
Peter Fendi’s painting shows a sparse room that is home to a family of seven. The father—an artisan —evidently cannot pay the rent, which is why the judicial officer is in the process of distraining property, aided by a policeman and an assistant. The foreboding finger pointing to the door leaves little doubt as to the desperate tenants’ future fate. In this work, Fendi was addressing the constant deterioration in social conditions faced by Vienna’s population since the 1830s. Industrialization had resulted in the disappearance of numerous jobs and professions. Many people’s lives were threatened by poverty and debt as a result.

Provenance
Exhibitions

Rudolf von Arthaber, Wien.
Franz Xaver Mayer, Wien
1956 Ankauf Norbert Mayer, Wien

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