Josef Carl Berthold PÜTTNER (1821-1881)

Title: Sunset over Santa Maria della Salute in Venice
Date: 1870
Technique: Oil on canvas
Signed and dated: Lower right “J. C. B. Püttner 1870”

Painting dimensions: 80 × 118 cm
Overall dimensions with frame: 118 × 158 cm

Josef Carl Berthold Püttner was a Czech painter born in Planá near Mariánské Lázně, who lived in the historical Austro-Hungarian Empire and became renowned for his beautiful marine paintings and landscapes. He trained as a porcelain painter in the Karlovy Vary region. From 1842 onward, he presented his works at the regular exhibitions of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Owing to his success at these exhibitions, Püttner moved to Vienna; from 1869 he settled in the nearby picturesque spa town of Vöslau.

In 1846, in addition to landscape painting, he began to focus on marine subjects. These marines, inspired by magnificent Italian seascapes—especially those of Venice and its surroundings—enjoyed great success on the transalpine market and particularly at the imperial court. In the 1840s he undertook study trips to Rome and the Netherlands. In 1855 he was appointed Court Marine Painter (K. K. Hofmarinemaler), a position from which he also worked as a restorer of numerous paintings in the Imperial Gallery in Vienna.

From 1861 he was a member of the painters’ association Wiener Künstlerhaus, connected with the Künstlerhaus building located in the very center of Vienna, with its main entrance on Karlsplatz. He was regarded as a respected and honorable citizen who actively participated in the cultural life of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. He died in 1881 in Hallstatt, Upper Austria.