Theodor BLÄTTERBAUER (1823-1906), Landscape with the Marian Column and Cistercian monastery complex in Lubiaz, 1884

gouache, watercolor, paper; 43 x 31.5 cm (light frame);
Signed and dated l. d.: Blätterbauer 1884

The "Marian Column" of the title, is situated on a massive, high pedestal surrounded by a balustrade. It was created in 1670; it is the work of Legnica-based sculptor Matthew Knothe. Around the base of the column are four statues depicting St. Anne, St. Elizabeth, Moses and his brother Aaron. A seated woman with a child can be seen at the balustrade, a beggar walking with a cane at the back, and a calf watching from the side.

Theodor Blätterbauer - Silesian Romantic painter, draftsman, illustrator, educator. After a brief period of study in Prague and Liberec, he studied in Munich with Ferdinand Stademann and Julius Lange from 1845-1849. Later - in 1853-1854 - he still studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin under Edward Biermann and Edward Hildebrandt. He then returned to Lower Silesia and settled in Legnica, where he taught drawing at the Knights Academy. In 1898 he received the title of professor. He traveled extensively, including to Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, the Rhineland, the Czech Republic and Tyrol. He traveled to the Karkonosze and Tatra Mountains, Greater Poland and Hungary. In his paintings and drawings he mainly depicted landscapes and historic buildings, and less frequently painted genre scenes and portraits. He was also involved in book illustration. The artist's works can be found in museums in Dresden, Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, Wroclaw, Legnica and Jelenia Gora, as well as in numerous private collections.