Josef Carl Berthold PÜTTNER (1821-1881)

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Title: Dutch Harbor at Sunset
Date: 1870
Technique: Oil on canvas
Signed and dated: Lower left “J. C. B. Püttner 1870”
On the reverse: Artist’s inscription with the title of the painting

Painting dimensions: 68.5 × 100.5 cm
Overall dimensions with frame: 108 × 140 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 marines 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, but 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 painting. It was precisely these marines, inspired by magnificent Italian seascapes—especially those of Venice and its surroundings—that 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). In this position he also worked as a restorer of many 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 the city, with its main entrance on Karlsplatz. He was regarded as a respected and honorable citizen who was actively involved in the cultural life of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. He died in 1881 in Hallstatt, Upper Austria.