stillife: the violin of Johann Strauß

Hans Makart's still life centred on Johann Strauss's violin is a document of the cultural intimacy that characterised Vienna's artistic and musical elite in the 1870s. Makart was the undisputed king of Viennese artistic life — his studio on the Gusshausstrasse was a celebrated gathering point, and Strauss was the city's most beloved musical figure. A still life built around the composer's own instrument operates as both a personal tribute and a statement about the intertwining of the visual and musical arts. The 1876 date places this in the peak years of Makart's influence, just before his death in 1884. The unusual support — cardboard rather than canvas — suggests an intimate, informal work rather than an exhibition piece. Its provenance through the Führermuseum (Hitler's planned Linz museum) reflects the later history of significant Austrian artworks under National Socialism.

Working on cardboard allowed Makart to achieve a dry, matte surface quality that suits the intimate scale. The violin and associated objects are rendered with trompe-l'oeil precision, recalling seventeenth-century Dutch vanitas traditions. Rich, warm tones — amber, gold, brown — create the characteristic Makart opulence even at reduced scale.