Hohenwerfen im Pongau

Title

Hohenwerfen im Pongau

Decorative view of the Hohenwerfen castle in Pongau.

ca. 1836

Artist

Kraus (1804-1852)

Gustav Kraus (1804–1852) was a Bavarian lithography artist of the Biedermeier period. He fully devoted himself to the then-new lithography technique, seeing himself less as an artist and more as a commercial graphic designer. Successful in business, he bought a house in Munich’s Schellingstraße in 1836 and founded his own publishing company there. Known as the “visual reporter of the Biedermeier era” (Eugen Roth) from 1825 to 1850, Kraus published numerous large-format lithographs, often based on Heinrich Adam’s designs, as well as his own drawings and watercolors of southern Germany, especially Munich. He also produced city and architectural views, event scenes (such as military maneuvers, parades, processions, and inaugurations), portraits of nobility and court, and depictions of costumes and uniforms. His combination of topographical accuracy and artistic quality was unique for his time.