Gustav Feith (Vienna 1875-1951)

Watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper
Size: 25 x 30 cm excluding the frame
Signed and dated (1910)

A watercolor painting depicting the Square of Heroes (Heldenplatz) near Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria. The statue is depicting the Archduke Charles of Austria.

To the back of the frame, there is a hand-written sign by an art dealer “K 600’000” which means 600 000 Austrian Krone. The Krone (pl. Kronen) was the currency of Austria (then known as German-Austria) and Liechtenstein after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1919) until the introduction of the Schilling (1925).

The statue of Archduke Charles of Austria, modeled on a popular painting by Johann Peter Krafft, was inaugurated already in 1860. It was meant to glorify the Habsburg dynasty as great Austrian military leaders and underline the leadership of Austria within the German Confederation,