Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel (1881-1965) - Coastal landscape near Abbazia

Coastal landscape near Abbazia, Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel (1881-1965), late 1930s, oil on canvas, signed

Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel was an Austrian painter and illustrator, who was mostly known for his Adriatic costal scenes and animal depictions. He attended the Munich School of Arts and Crafts and afterwards entered the monastry of Tanzenberg at Klagenfurt, in order to become a fresco painter. He never finished this prestigious education and went to Vienna instead. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts where his talents were discovered by the members of the Wiener Werkstätte. He designed several items for this famous manufacture and exhibited his paintings at the Wiener Secession. One of his most important works was the frieze in the child bedroom of the world-famous Palais Stoclet in Brussels.
During his career, he was awarded several gold medals at international exhibitions and was a student at Bauhaus and a member of the Wiener Künstlerhaus.

In the 1920s, he began visiting Opatija on a regular basis and the first costal scenes were created. Jungnickel spent his summers Opatija and in Villach, until the late 1930s. The annexation of Austria by the Nazis caused Jungnickel great anxiety and he decided to make Opatija his new home. He painted and lived there until 1952, when he returned to Austria.

According to Peter Weber, a living relative of Jungnickel and the administrator of the estate, and Ilse Spielvogel-Bodo, author of his catalogue raisonné, this painting is the most important piece of art that Jungnickel created during his time in Opatija. The stroke is masterful, the scene is very emotional and the lighting on the stormy waves is exceptionally well done. Despite the agitated rolling of the waves, the whole atmosphere of the painting radiates calmness, peace and beauty.

signed bottom right: "L.H.JUNGNICKEL."