Lot 269: Josef Danhauser (Vienna 1805 - 1845)

"Johannes ante portam Latinam" or the Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist, oil on canvas, 99 x 70.5 cm, magnificent gilt 19th-century frame, (Wo)

This painting is a design for Danhauser's first major commission, his large altarpiece in the Cathedral of Erlau in Hungary. Its archbishop Ladislaus Pyrker was a patron of the artist, who may be considered the main representative of Vienna Vormärz genre painting. The present work shows an influence of the great Netherlandish masters, primarily of Van Dyck. We thank H. Kretschmann and Hansjörg Krug, Vienna, for suggesting Josef Danhauser as the author of the present work.