Oil on canvas by Franck (Johann Frank) Kirchbach (London 1859 – Schliersee 1912)
A finely painted alpine landscape depicting what is almost certainly Schloss Runkelstein (Castel Roncolo), the celebrated medieval “painted castle” near Bolzano in South Tyrol. The composition shows the weathered stone walls, tiled roofs and arched openings of the fortified complex perched on a steep hillside, looking down a verdant valley toward distant mountains under a luminous, cloud-filled sky. Tall cypress-like trees and lush foliage frame the scene, lending it a romantic, atmospheric quality typical of late-19th-century landscape painting.
Signed lower left and fitted with an original artist’s plaque reading “Franck Kirchbach.”
Franck Kirchbach (also known as Johann Frank Kirchbach) was a German historical, genre, portrait and landscape painter of English birth. The son of the history painter Ernst Kirchbach, he trained at the Dresden and Munich Academies, travelled extensively in Italy, France and England, and studied with Mihály Munkácsy in Paris. He later taught at the Städel Institute in Frankfurt and the Munich Academy. While best known for large-scale historical and religious subjects, he also produced accomplished landscapes, of which this is a particularly attractive example.
Details
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions (framed): 114 cm high × 75 cm wide × 5 cm deep
Period: Late 19th century
Origin: Italy / South Tyrol
Frame: Period gilt wood frame with ornate scrolling corners
A high-quality work by a well-documented academic painter, presented in an elegant period frame and ready to hang. Ideal for collectors of 19th-century European landscape painting or those with an interest in South Tyrolean history and architecture.