Michael Wutky
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Michael Wutky (1739 – 28 September 1822/23) was an Austrian landscape painter in the
Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
style who specialized in Italian scenes.


Biography

Wutky was born in
Krems an der Donau Krems an der Donau (, ) is a city in Lower Austria, Austria. With a population of 24,821, it is the 20th-largest city of Austria and fifth-largest of Lower Austria. It is approximately west of Vienna. Krems is a city with its own statute (or '' ...
, Austria. In 1759, he studied at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...
, with
Martin van Meytens Martin van Meytens (24 June 1695 – 23 March 1770) was a Sweden, Swedish-Austrian painter who painted members of the Royal Court of Austria such as Marie Antoinette, Maria Theresa, Maria Theresa of Austria, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, the Em ...
.Brief biography
from the
Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...
@ German Wikisource.
He was originally a
history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek mythology, Greek and Roman my ...
, but was not very successful. In 1770, he became a member of the Vienna Academy and went to Italy on its behalf. Once there, he turned to landscape painting, which proved to be his true forté. Wutky spent six years in Italy, mainly in Rome, from 1781 to 1787. He is best known for the paintings he produced during a stay in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
.
Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...
was especially active at that time, and he took the opportunity to capture close-up scenes of the eruptions and lava flows. Accompanied by the English diplomat and
volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...
Sir William Hamilton, he even made risky trips close to the volcano's crater. He later spent some time painting the ruins in Rome, then returned to Vienna, where he became a Professor at the academy. He revisited Italy for a short time in 1805, to collect new material. His stepbrother, Franz Neumann (1744-1816), the Director of the "Royal Coin and Antiquities Gallery", left him 40,000
Florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
s, but he continued to earn his living by painting. Many years earlier, Lord Bristol had offered to buy two of his Italian landscapes for 1,200
Ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
s apiece, but died before the sale was completed. Wutky died in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.


Paintings of Vesuvius

File:Wutky Vesuv-Ausbruch.jpg, Eruption (close-up) File:Michael Wutky 002.jpg, Eruption File:Der Ausbruch des Vesuv über den Golf von Neapel gesehen, Öl auf Leinwand.jpg, View from the
Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean ...
File:Wutky-Vesuvius lava.jpg, Lava Flow


Collections

His work is included in the collections of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
, the
Kunstmuseum Basel The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland. It is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends ba ...
and the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest.


References


External links


ArtNet: More paintings by Wutky.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wutky, Michael 1739 births 1822 deaths Painters from the Austrian Empire Austrian male painters Austrian landscape painters People from Krems an der Donau Volcanologists 18th-century Austrian painters