Max Pistorius – Karersee

Technical information:

Code: QM231
Period: 1939
Origin: Vienna
Artist: Max Pistorius
Technique: oil on canvas

Artwork dimensions: 80 cm × 65 cm
Dimensions with frame: 84 cm × 69 cm

Description:

Oil on canvas depicting Lake Carezza, with the Latemar massif in the background, by Max Pistorius, signed and dated 1939. The composition develops vertically, with the expanse of water in the foreground softly reflecting the light of the sky and the green tones of the shoreline. The central band is occupied by a dense conifer forest, rendered with compact, modulated brushwork that establishes a solid middle ground and guides the viewer’s eye toward the mountain.

In the background rises the rocky face of the Latemar, constructed through chromatic layering and a freer, more atmospheric handling. The cool and rosy tones of the rock formations engage with the moving sky, suggesting a diffused, slightly veiled alpine light. The absence of human figures reinforces the contemplative character of the view, entrusting the entire scene to the relationship between nature, space, and silence.

The pictorial matter is evident yet controlled, with legible brushstrokes especially in the rocks and vegetation, characteristic of the artist’s mature production. The generous format gives breadth to the composition and enhances its landscape structure, making the work particularly decorative and representative of Central European alpine painting from the first half of the twentieth century.

This painting is available with its original gilded frame (customizable; the gallery shows it in matte anthracite and matte warm grey variants), or with a 2 cm antique fir wood frame.

Max Pistorius (Maximilian Friedrich Pistorius)

(Vienna, 6 October 1894 – Vienna, 26 September 1960)

Life and training
Austrian painter active in the first half of the twentieth century. He trained between Vienna and Munich, attending schools of applied arts; from 1927 onward he continued his activity independently. He worked primarily in Vienna, where he maintained a studio and residence, while sustaining a constant relationship with the alpine regions of Austria and South Tyrol, which became one of his principal sources of inspiration.

Artistic activity
Pistorius developed a pictorial language of traditional structure, based on solid compositional construction and a particular attention to atmospheric effects. His output includes landscapes, alpine views, still lifes, genre scenes, nudes, and portraits, with a clear predominance of landscape in his mature phase.

Works and subjects
Among his most recurring subjects are the Dolomites, mountain lakes, and wooded landscapes, often devoid of human figures and conceived as spaces for contemplation. Works dated to the 1930s and 1940s testify to a freer and more material handling of paint, though always controlled.