Oswald Grill Venus rising from the Danube ca. 1905

The Viennese painter Oswald Grill studied at the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule (Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) and at the Munich Art Academy. Among other things, he worked as a freelance artist in Dachau. In 1908, he became a member of the Wiener Künstlerhaus and was president of the Central Association of Austrian Visual Artists from 1917 to 1938. In 1929, he was appointed professor and received several other important awards.
Whereas the artist’s oeuvre included mainly landscape depictions, some portraits are also known. The lively exchange within the artist community in Vienna as well as his membership at the Wiener Künstlerhaus prompted Grill to explore new styles in the period around 1908. The “Venus rising from the Danube” is a recurring motif. A total of four different versions of this subject with altered representations and sizes are known.
Our version shown here is undoubtedly the most elaborate and technically refined: the sunset on the horizon, the reflecting golden-blue water, the shell in her hand, and the positioning in front of a lonely island in the water, all these details are elements of a deeply symbolistic pictorial language. The posture of the protagonist and the light reflecting around her mystify this female figure, a typical characteristic of late Viennese Symbolism. The quality of the painting is exceptional and the play of the light on the waves testifies to great artistic skill. This painting is a wonderful testimony of the school of Viennese light painting from around 1908.