Alfons Walde *
(Oberndorf 1891–1958 Kitzbühel)
„Palmbretzen“ (Palm Sunday pretzels), monogrammed and dated A. W. 13, oil on cardboard, 27.5 x 29.5 cm, framed
Listed and illustrated:
Gert Ammann / Michael Walde-Berger, Alfons Walde. Monografie mit Verzeichnis der Werke, Innsbruck 2025, cat. rais. no. 326
Provenance:
Private Collection, Carinthia
Private Collection, Tyrol
Among the early scenes of everyday life that Alfons Walde produced during his student years in Vienna the motif of the “Palmbretzen” (Palm Pretzels) is of particular charm, rendered in his characteristically small, nearly square format. The initial version was executed in 1912; a year later, alongside three other variations, he created the present painting.
The work’s alternative title is “Die Godl”, the Tyrolean term for a godmother. Following the Palm Sunday procession, she is depicted on her way home with her two godchildren. The streaming ribbons of her hat underscore their cheerful haste, whilst the young girl and boy attempt to firmly clutch their oversized Palm Pretzels under their arms.
Alfons Walde translates this joyful genre scene into the sketch-like, two-dimensional Secessionist idiom characteristic of these years. The figures, clad in traditional Kitzbühel attire (Tracht), are rhythmically distributed across the pictorial plane, finding a sophisticated counterpoint in the window of the house wall behind them. Within a reduced triad of black, white, and ochre, the godmother’s mauve apron and the vibrant red dabs on the children’s cheeks and the flowers provide charming accents of colour.
Carl Kraus
Specialist: Dr. Marianne Hussl-Hörmann
(Oberndorf 1891–1958 Kitzbühel)
„Palmbretzen“ (Palm Sunday pretzels), monogrammed and dated A. W. 13, oil on cardboard, 27.5 x 29.5 cm, framed
Listed and illustrated:
Gert Ammann / Michael Walde-Berger, Alfons Walde. Monografie mit Verzeichnis der Werke, Innsbruck 2025, cat. rais. no. 326
Provenance:
Private Collection, Carinthia
Private Collection, Tyrol
Among the early scenes of everyday life that Alfons Walde produced during his student years in Vienna the motif of the “Palmbretzen” (Palm Pretzels) is of particular charm, rendered in his characteristically small, nearly square format. The initial version was executed in 1912; a year later, alongside three other variations, he created the present painting.
The work’s alternative title is “Die Godl”, the Tyrolean term for a godmother. Following the Palm Sunday procession, she is depicted on her way home with her two godchildren. The streaming ribbons of her hat underscore their cheerful haste, whilst the young girl and boy attempt to firmly clutch their oversized Palm Pretzels under their arms.
Alfons Walde translates this joyful genre scene into the sketch-like, two-dimensional Secessionist idiom characteristic of these years. The figures, clad in traditional Kitzbühel attire (Tracht), are rhythmically distributed across the pictorial plane, finding a sophisticated counterpoint in the window of the house wall behind them. Within a reduced triad of black, white, and ochre, the godmother’s mauve apron and the vibrant red dabs on the children’s cheeks and the flowers provide charming accents of colour.
Carl Kraus
Specialist: Dr. Marianne Hussl-Hörmann
