Alpine Hut in Rainy Weather

The Austrian painter and graphic artist Friedrich Gauermann is considered to be an important painter of the Biedermeier period. In the course of his artistic life numerous landscapes were created, whose motives he studied in the open air. For his illustrated work "Seeauer Alpine hut in the rain" he was inspired on one of his favorite hikes through the Berchtesgadener Land. The picture belongs to the late work of the painter and counts his most famous works. Due to the painstakingly detailed "takebook" by the artist, the picture can be dated to the year 1850. With great attention to detail and strong coloring, the viewer sees a dramatic natural scene. Alpine dwellers, cows and goats fight against the angry storm in the mountains. Despite this rather serious subject, the picture does not oppress and draws the viewer into its spell. A strong coloring of the overall composition, the bright colors of the landscape and the figures in predominantly ocher tones convey a charming atmosphere.

The artist directs his view of the viewer's gaze deliberately from one pixel to the next. Centrally located and dominating in size is a hut with a wide open door from which a warm orange tinted light seems inviting to the outside. On the left side of the entrance, a group of cows are gathering under the cantilevered roof to shelter, one of the kittens lies exhausted on the ground, guarded by the surrounding species. The water flowing from the gutter of the roof does not flow in a straight stream to the ground, but is bent by the force of the wind into a semicircle. Such detailed and realistic elements make the work of Gauermann lively and exciting. Upon closer inspection, the viewer can discover numerous details that make the picture look as real and real as if it were in the midst of the rendered nature.
Turning away from the viewer, two more cows are waiting in the foreground of the picture. They would also like to enjoy the protection of the hut. Their front hooves, however, are lapped by the onset of the flood and cause the animals to falter. The way to their conspecifics remains blocked to them. On the left side of the picture, the farmers fight against wind and rain and strive to protect the safe hut. The woman's hat threatens to be torn off her head; her hand reaches for the brim, the upper body leans forward in the pressure of the headwind. Storm-battered fir trees and a mountain massif on the left frame the scene.

Above all, however, lies the impressive stormy sky, punctuated by rain streaks and bright, wind-driven cloud formations. The bright sunlight behind the cloud cover possibly announces the long-awaited change of weather by humans and animals. The artist leaves much room for the cause of the storm. Within the overall composition, the design of the sky occupies almost half of the picture surface and dominates the dramatic Almszenerie.

Gauermann based his works on the works of the old Dutch. Above all, his mastery of intense coloration brought him many commissions of the Viennese aristocracy and established his special art historical reputation. Even at an early age, the artist was regarded as the founder of a new landscape naturalism whose images were characterized by extraordinary elements of light and mood.