The Love Message

Hans Zatzka prints bring fairy-tale romance, flower-filled still lifes and graceful women and nymphs into your home. Zatzka was a Viennese academic painter whose sweet, colourful fantasies, inspired by Wagner and the Brothers Grimm, were reproduced on popular postcards across Europe. Our collection of fine art prints covers his romantic and mythological scenes, still lifes, Orientalist pictures and religious paintings.

About Hans Zatzka

Hans Zatzka was born in Vienna on 8 March 1859, the son of a construction worker. From 1877 to 1882 he studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under Christian Griepenkerl, Carl Wurzinger and Karl von Blaas, and in 1880 won the academy's Füger gold medal.

He made his living at first painting frescoes and altarpieces for churches and other institutions in Austria. In 1885 he painted the ceiling fresco The Naiad of Baden for the Kurhaus in Baden near Vienna.

He became best known for his paintings of women, fairies, nymphs and cupids, many inspired by Wagner's operas and Grimm's fairy tales. To get round contracts that limited how much he could sell, he worked under many pseudonyms, including Joseph Bernard, J. Bernard, P. Ronsard and H. Zabateri, which has caused confusion in art databases ever since. Many of his pictures were reproduced on collectable postcards. He died in Vienna in December 1945, though some sources give 1949.

Style and Subjects

Zatzka painted in a polished academic style, with smooth finish, soft light and sweet, pastel colour. His favourite subjects are beautiful young women in idyllic settings: nymphs by a stream, lovers by a river, Venus with cupids, maidens with letters, all wrapped in an air of gentle romance.

He also painted lush flower still lifes, Orientalist harem scenes and religious works such as Madonnas surrounded by putti.

Famous Works

• The Naiad of Baden (1885), Kurhaus, Baden bei Wien. His ceiling fresco for the spa's assembly hall.
• A Trompe l'Oeil with a Vignette (1890), Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth. A witty illusionistic picture.
• Water Nymph. A nymph by the water, a classic Zatzka subject.
• The Love Message. A young woman receiving a message of love.
• Venus and Cupid. The goddess and her son in a soft, romantic setting.
• The Odalisque. An Orientalist figure in a richly decorated interior.
• A Still Life with Flowers in a Jardinière. A lush arrangement of flowers on a ledge.

Decorating with Zatzka Prints

Zatzka's romantic nymphs and lovers, like Water Nymph or Love by the River's Edge, are made for bedrooms, bathrooms and dressing rooms, where their soft pinks, blues and golds create a dreamy, romantic feel. They suit shabby-chic, Victorian and French-style interiors.

His flower still lifes brighten a kitchen, dining room or hallway, and his Madonnas suit a quiet reading room or nursery.

FAQ

Who was Hans Zatzka?

Hans Zatzka (1859–1945) was an Austrian academic and fantasy painter from Vienna, known for romantic paintings of women, nymphs and cupids, flower still lifes and church frescoes.

Why did Hans Zatzka use so many names?

He put his name to works as Joseph Bernard, J. Bernard, P. Ronsard, H. Zabateri and others to avoid penalties for breaking contracts that limited how much art he could sell.

What inspired Zatzka's paintings?

He often drew on the operas of Richard Wagner and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, as well as classical mythology.

Where can I see Hans Zatzka's paintings?

Most of his paintings are in private collections. His ceiling fresco is in the Kurhaus at Baden near Vienna, and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery in Bournemouth holds a work.

Related Artists

• Karl von Blaas: one of his teachers at the Vienna Academy
• Hans Makart: Viennese master of decorative painting in the same era
• Franz von Stuck: German painter of mythological women and nymphs of the same generation