Franz Xaver Petter Lot n° 2143

Franz Xaver Petter Still life with flowers and bird's nest Oil on wood. 80 x 60 cm. Provenance South German private collection. Among the flower painters of the Viennese Biedermeier period, Franz Xaver Petter was the leading artist, as Gerbert and Marianna Frodl point out: "Petter is (...) the only one among the known flower painters of Vienna whose portrait has survived (cf. fig. 1), which may be explained by his strong presence in high circles of society and therefore his notoriety." (cf. Gerbert and Marianna Frodl: Die Blumenmalerei in Wien, Vienna 2010, p. 66ff). For example, Petter instructed the Archduchess Maria Henriette in flower painting, and one of his most opulent compositions was presented by Emperor Franz I to the Russian Tsar Nicholas I. Fig. 1/Ill. 1: Franz Xaver Petter. Lithograph by T. Petter, 1847 © Copyright Bildarchiv der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, for AEIOU.