Franz Alt

Franz Alt was born on August 16, 1821 in Vienna as one of eight children of the painter Jakob Alt. Like his older brother Rudolf von Alt, who would later become famous as a landscape and architecture painter, he took up his father's profession. The sons accompanied the father on trips and learned the first technical basics of watercolour painting. These should be deepened in the academy, where Franz Alt studied with Leopold Kupelwieser and Josef Danhauser. He there initially dealt with portrait painting, but soon returned to architectural watercolour paintings and watercolour landscape paintings. Thus, he returned to the field of activity of his brother and father. In 1844 he began to register his works himself, and by September 1906 there were 2,700. Accompanied by outstanding art lovers and patrons, he traveled through Central and Southern Europe, but also through Holland and Russia. The numerous picturesque views that emerged did not only pass into the possessions of the most important courts of his time, but were also printed in publications. His style strongly resembles his brother Rudolf's, who in the tradition of Viennese veduta painting emphasizes form more than colour and also prefers smaller formats. Franz Alt died on February 13, 1914 in his hometown.