Carl Moll
(Vienna 1861–1945)
„St. Michael in Heiligenstadt im Winter“, 1904, signed C. MOLL; titled and inscribed on the stretcher “Heiligenstadt-Winter A. M-Mahler”, label of the Künsterhaus 1921/3582 and inscription “Eigentum Alma Mahler-Werfel”, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm, framed
Listed and illustrated:
Cornelia Cabuk, Carl Moll. Monografie und Werkverzeichnis, Belvedere Werkverzeichnisse, vol. 11, Vienna 2020, cat. rais. no. GE 208
Provenance:
Alma Mahler-Werfel (1879–1964), Vienna/New York, until at least 1948
Private Collection, Austria
Sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 17 September 1980, lot 879
Private Collection, Vienna
Exhibition:
Vienna, Carl Moll, Künstlerhaus, 1921, cat. no. 18 (lender Alma Mahler)
Literature:
Monika Fritz, Carl Moll, Univ. Diss., Vienna 1962, cat. no. 46
We are grateful to Nikolaus Domes, MA for the confirmation of the number on the Künstlerhaus-label.
“A novel, recurring, yet inexhaustible world of motifs unfolded to the artist, giving rise to winter, spring, and autumn landscapes that ‘from the Hohe Warte of his home incessantly lend new charm to the Viennese landscape.’ ”
Bertha Zuckerkandl
In the autumn of 1901, Carl Moll and his family took up residence in the villa on the Hohe Warte, designed by Josef Hoffmann. From the ground floor, a central staircase led to the studio level and its adjoining terrace, which afforded the painter an expansive view extending to the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg.
Unusual for the early period of the Vienna Secession, this painting features a vertical orientation instead of the square shape, presumably to afford greater spatial prominence to the church tower. In the foreground, the defoliated trees function as a curtain-like repoussoir, clearing only towards the upper register to reveal the vastness of a snowscape hazily suffused by the white sky. The church tower serves as a vertical anchor within the composition; as was his frequent practice, Moll deliberately crops its spire, thereby evoking an impression of the infinite.
The painting remained in Carl Moll’s personal collection, and he submitted it as late as 1921 for his solo exhibition (Personale) at the Künstlerhaus. Following his death, the work passed into the possession of his stepdaughter, Alma Mahler-Werfel.
Specialist: Dr. Marianne Hussl-Hörmann
% from the market value
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
(Vienna 1861–1945)
„St. Michael in Heiligenstadt im Winter“, 1904, signed C. MOLL; titled and inscribed on the stretcher “Heiligenstadt-Winter A. M-Mahler”, label of the Künsterhaus 1921/3582 and inscription “Eigentum Alma Mahler-Werfel”, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm, framed
Listed and illustrated:
Cornelia Cabuk, Carl Moll. Monografie und Werkverzeichnis, Belvedere Werkverzeichnisse, vol. 11, Vienna 2020, cat. rais. no. GE 208
Provenance:
Alma Mahler-Werfel (1879–1964), Vienna/New York, until at least 1948
Private Collection, Austria
Sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 17 September 1980, lot 879
Private Collection, Vienna
Exhibition:
Vienna, Carl Moll, Künstlerhaus, 1921, cat. no. 18 (lender Alma Mahler)
Literature:
Monika Fritz, Carl Moll, Univ. Diss., Vienna 1962, cat. no. 46
We are grateful to Nikolaus Domes, MA for the confirmation of the number on the Künstlerhaus-label.
“A novel, recurring, yet inexhaustible world of motifs unfolded to the artist, giving rise to winter, spring, and autumn landscapes that ‘from the Hohe Warte of his home incessantly lend new charm to the Viennese landscape.’ ”
Bertha Zuckerkandl
In the autumn of 1901, Carl Moll and his family took up residence in the villa on the Hohe Warte, designed by Josef Hoffmann. From the ground floor, a central staircase led to the studio level and its adjoining terrace, which afforded the painter an expansive view extending to the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg.
Unusual for the early period of the Vienna Secession, this painting features a vertical orientation instead of the square shape, presumably to afford greater spatial prominence to the church tower. In the foreground, the defoliated trees function as a curtain-like repoussoir, clearing only towards the upper register to reveal the vastness of a snowscape hazily suffused by the white sky. The church tower serves as a vertical anchor within the composition; as was his frequent practice, Moll deliberately crops its spire, thereby evoking an impression of the infinite.
The painting remained in Carl Moll’s personal collection, and he submitted it as late as 1921 for his solo exhibition (Personale) at the Künstlerhaus. Following his death, the work passed into the possession of his stepdaughter, Alma Mahler-Werfel.
Specialist: Dr. Marianne Hussl-Hörmann
% from the market value
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
