Josef Danhauser (1805 - 1845)

Son of a furniture manufacturer, Danhauser trained – amongst others – from 1820 to 1826 with Johann Peter Krafft (1780–1856) at the Vienna Academy. At the beginning of his artistic career, he studied history illustrations. In 1828, Danhauser spent time in Erlau/Eger, where he was commissioned by the Archbishop to paint the large altar-piece. After the death of his father, he assumed artistic leadership of the furniture factory, influencing the style of Viennese Biedermeier furniture with his designs. In 1836 he received the Vienna Academy prize, and in 1841 he was appointed professor of history painting. Apart from portraits, Danhauser painted mainly genre pictures. An excellent draughtsman, he always made several preliminary detail and composition studies for his paintings. Between 1836 and 1844, he made several socio-critical narrative paintings, influenced by artists such as William Hogarth (1697– 1764) and Jan Steen (1625/26–1679).

Author: Oehring Erika

Literature: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, S. 142