(Vienna 1781–1858)
Playing children in the Park, signed Anton Petter p., oil on canvas, 162 x 221 cm, framed, small parts of peeling paint in the lower right edge (Rei)

Provenance:
European Private Collection;

Illustrated in:
Lothar Schultes, Johann Baptist Reiter, Hrsg. OÖ Landesmuseum und dem Nordico Stadtmuseum Linz, Verlag Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2013, p. 24, ill. 14.

Anton Petter, who is mainly known for his historical paintings (e.g. “Der Einzug Kaiser Maximilians I. in Gent”/”The Entry of Emperor Maximilian I into Ghent”, 1822, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), shows in the painting presented here a family portrait, a rare but nonetheless carefully executed theme. The four children depicted here are situated in front of a landscape with fountain. Their clothing indicates that they are children from a high-status family. Through the arrangement of the protagonists and the choice of the colours of their clothes, Petter achieves a harmonious pictorial composition. The subtle manner of painting of the clothing and the faces illustrate the academically trained brushwork of the artist. He enriches the classically influenced style of representation with attributes which indicate childhood and adolescence. The sheep upon which the boy, holding a riding crop, rides, as well as the dove in the hand of the little girl in the yellow dress, symbolise childlike innocence and the blossoming transition to adulthood. The badminton racquet, seemingly lying accidentally at the feet of the girl at the left, as well as the shuttlecock, might indicate proof of the light-heartedness of childhood. The representation of children at play was increasingly treated as a theme in 19th century painting. The child was viewed more and more as an individual, even if rendered according to certain conventions. Sentimentality is only tentatively reflected here, as Petter still implements an academic style for the theme. Nevertheless he is successful in focussing the interest of the viewer on the scene. For two reasons, Italy immediately suggests itself as the location where the picture was painted. On the one hand, the landscape depicted could be the Italian Campania, and on the other hand Petter’s biography also supports this assumption. In 1808 the artist made a visit to Rome, probably to study the works of the great Italian masters and also to establish contacts with fellow artists coming from the north. In 1809 he received the Reichel Prize, given to an artist for the first time. In addition he was an honorary member of the Academies in Milan, Venice and Florence. He was certainly able to use his growing reputation to acquire Italian patrons, or patrons living in Italy, for commissions. The influence of the artist on the genre of historical painting is undisputed, and is reflected in his appointments as Professor at the Academy and, subsequently, as the Director of the School of Painting and Sculpture at the same institution. The work presented here is evidence of Petter’s artistic range.