Franz Eybl (1 April 1806[1] – 29 April 1880) was an Austrian painter.
Life
Eybl was born in the
Viennese suburb of
Gumpendorf at Große Steingasse 136 (today Stumpergasse 55). By 1816, at the age of ten, he had already entered the
Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, studying under
Josef Klieber and
Josef Mössmer. Between 1820 and 1823 he studied under
Johann Baptist von Lampi and
Franz Caucig, reproducing antique statues and casts. Until 1828 he studied
history painting under
Johann Peter Krafft and much of his work shows this. In 1825 Eybl won the Academy's
Gundel-Prize and in 1828 the Lampi Prize. In 1830 he married Antonia Jordan. In 1843 Eybl became a member of the Academy.[2] Eybl died at his official residence in
Belvedere and buried at Vienna's famous
Zentralfriedhof where notable figures such as
Beethoven,
Brahms and
Schubert are interred. Eyblweg ("Eybl Way") in
Leopoldau, Vienna was named after him in 1933.
He died at the age of 74 in 1880.
Work
Franz Eybl devoted himself to
landscape painting and
genre works as well as history painting. After 1840 he became influenced by
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller in his use of light. He painted many portraits, and counted himself one of the most important portrait painters in 19th century Austria alongside
Friedrich von Amerling. Eybl made over 400
lithographic portraits and is comparable with the prolific
Josef Kriehuber in this aspect.
List of works
Ein slowakischer Zwiebelverkäufer ("A Slovakian Onion-Seller") (Budapest,
Szépmüvészeti Múzeum), 1835, oil on cardboard, 25 x 29.5 cm (10" x 11.5")
Ramsauer Bäuerin am Spinnrad ("Farmer Woman from Ramsau at the Spinning Wheel") (Vienna,
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), around 1836, oil on wood
Bildnis Frau Nadassy ("Portrait of Mrs Nadassy") (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1839, oil on wood, 29 x 23 cm (11.5" x 9")
Selbstporträt mit Hut ("Self-portrait with Hat") (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), around 1840, oil on canvas, 70 x 56 cm (27" x 22")
Selbstporträt vor rotem Grund (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1843, oil on canvas
Bildnis einer Dame im Lehnstuhl (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1846, oil on canvas, 111 x 91 cm (43.5" x 36")
Karl Gustav Wittmann auf dem Totenbett (
Vienna Museum), 1847, watercolour
Das Innere einer Schmiede (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1847, oil on canvas
Lesendes Mädchen ("Reading Girl") (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1850, oil on canvas, 53 x 41 cm (21" x 16")
Ein alter Bettler (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), 1856, oil on wood, 40 x 31 cm (15.5" x 12")
Graf Miklós Wesselényi der Jüngere (Budapest,
Hungarian National Museum), oil on linen, 94 x 75.5 cm (37" x 29.5")
Bibliography
Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart in 37 volumes 1907-1950
Dr Ingrid Kastel; Franz Eybl 1806-1880; University of Vienna Arts Faculty dissertation, 1983
Eybl, Franz. In
Constantin von Wurzbach: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Österreich. Volume 4. Vienna 1858. Available online at
literature.at(in German)
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Franz Eybl.