Alfons Walde*

(Oberndorf 1891–1958 Kitzbühel)
„Rast” (Resting), 1930, signed A. Walde; titled and dated on old artist label (on the reverse), oil on cardboard, 32 x 29 cm, original Walde-frame

Registered:
Alfons-Walde-Archive

Provenance:
European Private Collection


Around 1890, the Kitzbühel hotelier and ski pioneer Franz Reisch initiated the era of skiing in Kitzbühel. In addition to piste skiing and the first downhill races, ski touring in the open nature grew increasingly popular. This enthusiasm was also shared by the painter Alfons Walde, who soon became an excellent skier himself. As early as 1910, he painted his first ski scenes, introducing a new subject into art.
In the late 1920s, his ski paintings gained rhythm and modeled color and form tones. Walde now proved himself to be “a creator who always captures the entire atmospheric situation and never isolates the athletes, but always integrates them into their action space.” The message is clearly formulated: the athletic person is an actor, in harmony with nature. Thus, the need for detailed depiction in painting was also eliminated; the event is seen and formulated holistically. Walde's ski paintings therefore remain relevant to this day with their intriguing depiction of sporty natural experiences that have lost none of their fascination.

cf. Gert Ammann, Alfons Walde, 1993, p. 79 ff.