Artist
Franz von Defregger
Franz von Defregger prints bring the warmth of Alpine village life into your home: families gathered in wood-paneled farmhouse rooms, hunters returning from the mountains, girls in traditional dress and dances to the zither. Defregger was an Austrian painter of the Munich school, beloved for...Read more
Franz von Defregger prints bring the warmth of Alpine village life into your home: families gathered in wood-paneled farmhouse rooms, hunters returning from the mountains, girls in traditional dress and dances to the zither. Defregger was an Austrian painter of the Munich school, beloved for his scenes of his native Tyrol. This collection gathers art prints of his genre scenes, portraits of Tyrolean people and dramatic pictures of the 1809 uprising.
About Franz von Defregger
Franz Defregger was born on 30 April 1835 at the Ederhof farm in Stronach, in the Tyrol, the son of a farmer. His mother and two sisters died of typhoid when he was six. As a boy he played the flugelhorn in the village band and taught himself drawing and woodcarving while working on the family farm.
He took over the farm when his father died in 1858, but soon sold it and went to Innsbruck to study woodcarving with the sculptor Michael Stolz, who saw his talent for painting and introduced him to Karl von Piloty in Munich. Defregger entered the Munich Academy in 1861, studied in Paris from 1863 to 1865, and from 1867 to 1870 worked in Piloty's studio alongside Hans Makart and Gabriel von Max.
His paintings quickly became popular successes, and from 1878 to 1910 he was professor of history painting at the Munich Academy, where Lovis Corinth was among his students. In 1883 he was ennobled as Franz von Defregger. He divided his time between his house in Munich and a villa in Bolzano, and died in Munich on 2 January 1921.
Style and Subjects
Defregger painted the life of Tyrolean peasants with affection and humor: courtship in the farmhouse parlor, dances, card games, children going to school and old people telling stories. His interiors glow with warm browns and golds, and his figures are full of character.
He also painted dramatic scenes from the Tyrolean uprising of 1809 against the Bavarians and French, including portraits of its heroes and the departure of men for battle, as well as many portrait studies of Tyrolean men, women and children.
Famous Works
- The Last Contingent (Das letzte Aufgebot) (1874), Belvedere, Vienna. Old men and boys march off to fight in the 1809 uprising.
- The Zither Player (1875). A group gathers in a mountain cabin to listen to the zither.
- Tyrolean Home Guard Returning from the War of 1809 (1876), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. The return of the Tyrolean fighters.
- Poachers in an Alpine Hut (1876), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. A tense scene inside a mountain hut.
- Tyrolean Hunter (1887), Augustiner Museum, Freiburg. A hunter in traditional dress.
- The Painter Franz von Lenbach (1895), Lenbachhaus, Munich. A portrait of his fellow Munich painter.
- The Strength Test (1898), Belvedere, Vienna. Villagers compete in a test of strength.
Decorating with Defregger Prints
Defregger's farmhouse interiors and village scenes bring a cozy, rustic feeling to a kitchen, dining room or living room. Their warm browns and golds suit chalet, cabin and country-style homes, especially with wood paneling and simple wooden frames.
His portraits of children and girls in dirndls look lovely in a hallway or bedroom, and his hunting scenes suit a den, study or mountain retreat.
FAQ
What art movement was Franz von Defregger part of?
Defregger belonged to the Munich school of painting and trained under Karl von Piloty. He is best known as a genre and history painter of Tyrolean life.
What is Franz von Defregger's most famous painting?
The Last Contingent (Das letzte Aufgebot, 1874), in the Belvedere in Vienna, is one of his best-known works. It shows Tyrolean men marching to war in 1809.
Where can I see Defregger's original paintings?
His work is in the Belvedere in Vienna, the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Lenbachhaus in Munich and the Hermitage, as well as museums in Tyrol.
How can you recognize a Defregger painting?
Look for Tyrolean farmhouse interiors in warm golden light, people in traditional dress, and lively, good-humored scenes of village life.
What was the Tyrolean uprising of 1809?
In 1809 Tyrolean peasants rose up against Bavarian and French rule. Defregger painted many scenes and portraits from the uprising, which made him especially popular in Austria and Bavaria.
Related Artists
- Gabriel von Max — worked alongside him in Piloty's studio
- Hans Makart — another of Piloty's studio assistants in the same years
- Franz von Lenbach — Munich painter whom he portrayed
- Lovis Corinth — one of his students at the Munich Academy
- Albin Egger-Lienz — later Tyrolean painter of peasant life and the 1809 uprising
