This beautiful late 19th-century oil painting by Austrian artist Joseph Jacob Burgaritzky (1836-1890) depicts a view of Bregenz, Austria, with Lake Constance and Deuring Castle beyond.

With branches sprawled, an ancient oak ‘points’ towards a glimpse of Lake Constance and the tinted horizon. The foliage is gnarled and majestic. A crowded river weaves through reeds.

From our vantage point, the composition favours nature over man, with the figures and the castle little more than secondary elements. Through the rose-tinted looking glass of Romanticism, the random sublimity of the natural world surpasses even the finest man-made architecture.

Very little is recorded about Joseph Jacob Burgaritzky, despite his evident skill. He was born in Molln near Steyr in Upper Austria and lived predominantly in Vienna. His training was certainly undertaken at a leading Academy, perhaps either in Vienna or Düsseldorf.

Signed on the tree stump, lower middle, and held in a later frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 29” x 35” / 74cm x 89cm
Year of creation: c. 1880
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed with the title on reverse.
Provenance: Private collection, Germany.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Later stretcher. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £5,057 for ‘Jagdgesellschaft Vor Einer Weiten Landschaft’, Oil on canvas, Vienna, Austria, 10 December 2007.
Our reference: BRV2177