Hans Zatzka is an Austrian painter, the author of a huge number of paintings in the “salon style”. He was criticized for his “sugary sweetness”. The critics did not understand – when the whole world was plunged into the blood and dirt of war, ordinary people yearned and dreamed not just of a world without exploding shells, but of a beautiful, ideal world that would be like paradise.
And the artist, to the best of his talent, gave people this dream.

Artist Hans Zatzka. From religious painting to salon painting

Hans Zatzka was born in March 1859 in a middle-class family, from an early age he was fond of painting and after finishing school confidently entered the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied from 1877 to 1882. He studied diligently and already in 1879 received a gold medal “for special merits”. After graduating from the academy, he traveled to Italy several times, where he took lessons from masters of painting of that time, visited museums and looked for new themes for his paintings. The artist painted portraits and frescoes, paintings on religious themes, which brought the young artist his main income.

The artist’s brother, Ludwig Zatzka, continued the family business and worked as an architect, built new churches and supervised the restoration of old ones. And it was his brother who provided Hans Zatzka with contracts for the production of frescoes, painting altars and the restoration of old churches.

While painting an altar in one of the churches, Hans Zatzka met his first wife Magdalene. They got married and soon two beautiful girls were born into the family. It was his wife and daughters who inspired the artist to create paintings in the antique style.
The artist loved his family immensely and turned out to be a real homebody – he set up a workshop at home to always be close to his children and beloved wife. However, he worked so much that his household saw him only during family lunches and dinners.
For the same reason, in order not to leave home, the artist refused to teach at the Academy.

In April 1945, the council of professors of the Academy of Fine Arts decided to award Hans Zatzka the title of professor. And four months later, in December 1945, Hans Zatzka was gone – he worked in the studio literally until his last day.