Emil Strecker

EMIL STRECKER (Germany, 1841-1925)
"Enraptured Girls. 1873.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
It presents slight craquelures.
Measurements: 47.5 x 39.5 cm; 83 x 75 cm (frame).
The painter Emil Strecker, of German origin, lived in Austria. He developed genre themes with a naturalistic language. He first studied sculpture with Ernst Julius Hähnel at the Dresden Academy and learned painting as a pupil of Ludwig Richter. For his sculptural work he was awarded the German State Prize and a scholarship in the form of a trip to Rome, after which he remained in Italy for three years. From 1870 to 1875 Strecker studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Julius Roeting and Wilhelm Sohn. In 1883 he settled in Vienna, where he continued his training with Heinrich von Angeli and exhibited regularly as a member of the Künstlerhaus in Vienna. From 1900 he was a member of the Hagenbund. He was mainly active in Dürnstein, where he lived for a long time and became an honorary citizen. In 1904 he received the Small Golden State Medal for his painting Kirtag in the Wachau. In 1919 he founded the Wachauer Künstlerbund, of which he became honorary president.