Spring in the Prater

Künstler*in Tina Blau (1845 Wien – 1916 Wien)

Object typePainting
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
215 × 291 cm
SignatureSign. und dat. rechts unten: Tina Blau / Wien 1882
Inventory number2233
Locations Belvedere, Upper Belvedere, 1. Floor (east), Room SO2
Tina Blau painted her monumental park landscape for the 1882 International Exhibition at the Vienna Künstlerhaus. According to an anecdote, the jury initially rejected the painting on the grounds that its brightness “would tear a hole in the wall.” It was only after the intervention of Hans Makart that the work was included in the exhibition. It brought overnight success for Tina Blau. In 1883 it was exhibited at the Paris Salon where it received an honorable mention. In order to capture the different atmospheres, light, and details of nature, Tina Blau pushed her handcart loaded with painting utensils through woods and meadows and painted outdoors. However, the vast scale of Spring in the Prater required her to work in her studio that was located in the midst of Vienna’s Prater park. The painting was retrospectively described as the first Impressionist work in Austrian art.