Academician on the periphery : Johann Georg Walter in Modra

Abstract

Despite several partial findings, our image of an academically trained painter is mostly formed by a generalizing tradition implying his position in the top ranks among artists as well as certain style uniformity. In many aspects, these ideas are anchored in the 19th century and cannot be applied to 18th century Central Europe. At that time, the k. k. Hofakademie der Maler, Bildhauer und Baukunst (Imperial and Royal Court Academy of Painters, Sculptors, and Architecture) in Vienna became a crucial training institution for artists. The ambitions of this institution did not yet measure up to reality; however, its influence in the middle of the century became essential. Based on new research, this study presents an example of the heretofore unknown painter, Johann Georg Walter. After completing his studies at the Vienna Academy, Walter settled in the small wine town of Modra, outside the local artistic centres. For several decades Walter created various types of paintings, but primarily sacral paintings. He can be considered as a model example of a painter who disseminated Vienna's impulses on its periphery, one of the hundreds that the Academy trained. New findings about him also allow us to pursue a wider range of issues related to how the Vienna Academy graduates were able to find work and the issues of the transfer, modification, and rooting of its impulses outside artistic centres.