On March 1, 2015, Külter stonemason Walter Wachenfeld passed away at the age of 89. The senior partner of Wachenfeld Naturstein GmbH in Volkmarsen-Külte worked in the family business until he was very old. After the Second World War, he completed his training as a stonemason and took over the family business, which has existed since 1883. From 1965 to 1985, he was on the journeyman’s examination board and […]

On March 1, 2015, Külter stonemason Walter Wachenfeld passed away at the age of 89. The senior partner of Wachenfeld Naturstein GmbH in Volkmarsen-Külte worked in the family business until he was very old.

After the Second World War, he completed his training as a stonemason and took over the family business, which has existed since 1883. From 1965 to 1985, he was on the journeyman’s examination committee and from 1980 to 1995 on the advertising committee of the German Natural Stone Association. His company was also successfully involved in the preservation of historical monuments: in 2006, he was awarded the Hessian Monument Prize.

Walter Wachenfeld promoted innovation and creativity. Even after 60 years of working in his own company, he emphasized at the 125th anniversary celebration: “We should allow crazy things to happen in our companies and pursue the implementation of good ideas with passion”. Open to new ideas, he was always eager to break new ground himself – as in the further development of the self-supporting spiral staircase. Today, his son Michael runs the family business, which was included in the list of the Top 100 in the “Top 100: Award for the most innovative medium-sized companies” competition in 2002. In the spirit of the deceased, “quality in the tradition of craftsmanship with technical innovations and timeless design concepts” remains the company’s top priority.

Social responsibility was another important component of Wachenfeld’s life. He was involved in a wide range of voluntary work, for which he was awarded a letter of honor by the state of Hesse, and sat on the Volkmarsen-Külte local council as a member of the FDP from 1953 to 1972. In the 1970s, he became a town councillor and magistrate, before finally being appointed town elder in 1977. The local politician with close ties to his home town was also a supporter of TV 08 Külte and a member of the advisory board of Volksbank Kassel.

What the Reformation is to the Germans this year, the 300th birthday of the ruler Maria Theresa is to Austria. Various exhibitions in Vienna are currently celebrating the Habsburgs’ most powerful woman. RESTAURO visited the Austrian Belvedere Gallery in Vienna during the preparations for its anniversary show and met the restorers Stefanie Jahn and Bettina Urban as well as curator Dr. […]

What the Reformation is to the Germans this year, the 300th birthday of the ruler Maria Theresa is to Austria. Various exhibitions in Vienna are currently celebrating the Habsburgs’ most powerful woman. RESTAURO visited the Austrian Belvedere Gallery in Vienna during the preparations for its anniversary show and met the conservators Stefanie Jahn and Bettina Urban as well as curator Dr. Georg Lechner.

“Maria Theresa’s (1717-1780) commissioning and acquisition policy still shapes some of the Belvedere’s collections today,” explains curator Georg Lechner, who conceived the major anniversary exhibition “Maria Theresa and Art”. “During her reign, the collection grew, particularly in the field of landscape painting. Maria Theresa’s commitment to the gallery was great. Despite the existence of directors and curators, the monarch’s personal approval for art acquisitions can also be found in the archival records. The works that were created during her lifetime and can be traced in the collection at the latest through the catalog published by Christian von Mechel in 1783 show that Maria Theresa not only bought historical works, but also increasingly turned to contemporary art. However, it must be said that the acquisition of works by old masters was an expensive pleasure even then.” Maria Theresa was particularly supportive of artists living in what is now Austria. For example, the monarch commissioned the four-part Heron Stain in Laxenburg and the Battle of Hochkirch from Johann Christian Brand to decorate her palaces. “Women rarely appeared as patrons or collectors at the time,” says Belvedere curator Georg Lechner.

A highlight of the Viennese show is the large painting of the monarch from the workshop of Martin van Meyten the Younger (1695-1770). The important late Baroque painter – a native Swede of Dutch descent – was one of the preferred portraitists of the Austrian imperial family under Maria Theresa and developed his specific style, influenced by various European models, during various study visits to France, England and Italy. The full-length portrait now on display in the exhibition repeats the painter’s famous work in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. This was used to decorate the council chamber of the Academy and was once also full-length. It was only after 1790 that it was cropped as a knee-length piece. Thanks to the Belvedere version, it is now possible to see Meytens’ main work, which is still impressive despite the reduction in size, in its original state.

“During the restoration of this painting, we were able to discover exciting details,” explains Stefanie Jahn, Head of the Conservation Department. “For example, we discovered that the canvas had been extended. In the past, the painting was probably intended to be presented in its current frame. For this reason, a piece of canvas was attached, sewn on and glued. The upper and lower parts of the picture were then painted. We also wanted to find out whether a stencil had been used to transfer the original to our painting and examined the painting using infrared reflectography. This was not the case, but preliminary drawings and older underpaintings were found under the painting. We also discovered the inscription ‘Her Highness Empress Maria Theresa’. The lettering was probably painted over when the painting was enlarged, as the inscription would now have been placed in the middle of the painting due to the fragmentation of the canvas. After the examination, we cleaned the rather dirty painting. Now the fine painting of the precisely rendered facial features and the detailed depiction of the elaborately crafted garments have been beautifully restored.”

You can find out more about the restoration work in the current issue of RESTAURO, which will be published tomorrow, July 11, 2017.

The following video shows impressions of our visit to the Belvedere: Restoration manager Stefanie Jahn explains her work on the large Maria Theresa painting from the workshop of Martin van Meyten the Younger (1695-1770) to editor Dr. Ute Strimmer.