Hans Zatzka

Hans Zatzka – Numerous public commissions

Hans Zatzka was born Johann Franz Čačka in Breitensee, Vienna, on 8th March 1859. He was the younger brother of architect Ludwig Zatzka (1857-1925), the great-grand uncle of the Viennese actress Hilde Sochor (1924-2017) and the great-great-grand uncle of actor and director Paulus Manker (born 1958). Hans Zatzka studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1877 to 1882 under Carl von Blaas (1815-1894), Christian Griepenkerl (1839-1916) and Carl Wurzinger (1817-1883), and after completing his studies, worked as a freelance painter in Vienna and soon received public commissions. At the age of 26, he created a ceiling painting of spring nymphs for the Kurhaus Baden near Vienna. He received numerous other commissions through the mediation of his brother Ludwig Zatzka, who was very well connected as a city architect, painted numerous altarpieces and church frescoes, but also later worked on commissions for commercial publishers. His art is considered groundbreaking in the field of secular bedroom paintings.

Themes from religion, mythology and Wagner operas

Hans Zatzka did not make any preparatory sketches for his paintings, but painted directly onto the canvas. His favourite motifs included religious and mythological subjects, but also scenes from the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-1883). His first wife and their two daughters often modelled for him, and his specialisation in graceful female figures, cupids, Madonnas, nymphs and guardian angels proved to be advantageous when a corresponding market developed for the petit bourgeoisie and entire picture factories went into mass production. Zatzka created entire series of so-called ‘Reigenbilder’, ‘Traumbilder’ and ‘Kahnbilder’ (pictures of round dances, dreams, boats) for Kunstanstalten May AG according to clearly defined criteria. His altarpieces and church paintings often featured the people who commissioned them or important personalities such as the Mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, or the church patron, Karl Borromeo. Zatzka painted into old age and achieved a remarkable level of productivity, which was further increased by the serial reproduction of many pictures.

Pseudonyms, honours and copyright dispute

In the course of his artistic career, Hans Zatzka used several different pseudonyms, including P. Ronsard, which referred to the French poet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585), who, together with Joachim du Bellay (1522-1560), had gathered the group La Pléiade around him. Another pseudonym was Joseph Bernard, but this had no connection to the French sculptor of the same name. Hans Zatzka received prizes and awards for his art and was honoured with the Goldene Fügermedaille in 1880. A copyright dispute arose over the painting Blumenreigen, which Zatzka had painted for his collector and patron Felix Freund, because the artist had previously produced a similar motif entitled Elfenreigen as a commission for the printer Adolf May. The dispute went all the way to the Imperial Court in Leipzig and ended in Hans Zatzka's favour when it was established that the two works of art were different.

Hans Zatzka died on 17th December 1945 in Breitensee.