Paul Troger (1698-1762) - Pièta

Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 101x100 cm without the frame.
Dimensions: 137x117 cm with the frame.

This painting, with strong expressionist overtones, was painted in several versions, including a smaller one that was offered for sale in 2009 by Im Kinsky Kunst Auktionen with an estimate of €20,000–€40,000.

During his grand tour of Italy, the painter of Austrian origin was able to benefit from the teachings of Sebastiano Ricci in Venice. His stay in Naples allowed him to meet Francesco Solimena, with whom he collaborated. Upon his return to Austria, he specialized in religious commissions, which bore a deep Caravaggist influence.

In 1740–1741, when the artist was at the height of his fame, a significant stylistic change occurred in the Adoration of the Lamb by the Twenty-Four Elders (abbey of Seitenstetten, ceiling of the library): moving away from a powerful, massive canon, he adopted slender, elongated bodies, the folds becoming broken and angular, and the color palette brightened. For several years, Troger, nicknamed “the favorite of the prelates,” played an important role by teaching young artists at the Vienna Academy, where he was named assessor (1752), then rector (1754). His pupils included J. J. Zeiller, F. Zoller, Ch. Unterberger, F. Sigrist. He would exert a great influence on Maulbertsch and Mildorfer. From 1755 onward, his production, surprisingly abundant and devoted exclusively to abbeys and churches, shows a very clear decline, probably due to ill health.
As a result, easel painting became his sole means of subsistence.

Our painting fits into this new stylistic evolution that began around 1740, namely a return toward a Mannerism that is expressed, among other things, by a distortion and elongation of the figures; the tones become lighter, and the brushwork more vibrant.