Exhibition preview 2024: Emperor Franz Josef I and the chamber medallist Anton Scharff
The new year starts with the upcoming special exhibition "Imperial Impressions - The Emperors and their Court Artists" at the Coin Cabinet in Vienna, that is dedicated for the first time to artists who worked in the court environment of the Habsburg (Lorraine) rulers and created artistic masterpieces in the form of medals and sculptures. In the run-up to the opening in February 2024, we are presenting some selected masterpieces, which can then be viewed in the original on site.
While the last article focussed on Antonio Abondio (1538-1591), a court artist of the 16th century, today's article is dedicated to a representative of the late 19th century: Anton Scharff (1845-1903).
As the son of the gem cutter and medallist Johann Michael Scharff, who learnt his trade from the renowned Italian gem cutter and medallist Luigi Pichler, Anton came into contact with the profession at an early age. Due to the early death of his father, Scharff subsequently trained from 1860 with Carl Radnitzky at the Academy of Fine Arts' medal-making school and until 1865 with Joseph Daniel Böhm at the engraving academy at the Mint in Vienna. Both artists are regarded as representatives of a rather conservative classicist style in medals, which Anton Scharff attempted to soften in his work. Scharff was trained in modelling, the basis of the engraving profession, by the sculptor Franz Bauer. Scharff's excellent training led to a remarkable career at the Mint from 1866 onwards, which took him from assistant mint engraver to head of the engraving academy in 1881. His oeuvre includes numerous coins, medals, portrait reliefs and plaques.
An example of Scharff's mastery of modelling is a model that impressively depicts the bust of Emperor Franz Josef I (reigned 1848-1916) in red wax on black slate. The plaque made with this and other models was commissioned in 1901 by Erich Graf Kielmansegg, who was governor of Lower Austria at the time. It commemorates the 400-year existence of the Lower Austrian governorship, which dates back to the time of Maximilian I and therefore features both emperors in portrait. Finely modelled portraits were an essential part of Scharff's work throughout his life.
The exhibition can be seen at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna from February 13, 2024!
