Large Oil on Canvas Painting of ‘Venus & Cupid’ After Hans Zatzka

PRESENTING a FANTASTIC and LARGE Oil on Canvas Painting of ‘Venus & Cupid’ After the original masterpiece by renowned artist, Hans Zatzka.

This is a mid to late 20th Century, circa 1970-80, entirely hand-painted reproduction copy by ‘artist unknown’.

There is a signature on the painting (bottom left) but we cannot decipher it. Possibly – “Mara”.

It is an EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY AND SKILLED reproduction of Zatzka’s masterpiece.

The artist had some ‘talent’.

LARGE – Including the frame, it is 5 foot x 4 foot.

Beautifully framed in a quality giltwood frame and beautifully matted, with the painting forming a central oval medallion, bordered by embossed and gilded stud border and a classic ‘Art Nouveau” style embossed gilt ribbon decoration on a burgundy background, surrounding the painting.

This copy has some very minor and slight/subtle differences in detail from the original Zatzka painting … only helping to prove that it is an authentic hand-painted original copy. The artist clearly put their own ‘stamp’ on this .. with more pronounced facial detail on Venus and a more Art Nouveau Period Hairstyle … making her resemble more of a modern woman, rather than the neoclassical ‘look’ that she has in the original. Also, Cupid’s facial features and hair are more detailed. The original had a much more ‘green hue’ to it, whereas this one is vibrant in all colors including the water and background sky.

Hans Zatzka was an Austrian Academic and fantasy painter. He has sometimes been known as P. Ronsard, Pierre de Ronsard, or H. Zabateri, and signed many of his works as Joseph Bernard, J. Bernard, or Bernard Zatzka. The purpose of Zatzka’s vast array of pseudonyms was to avoid penalties of breaking contracts which limited the amount of artwork he could sell. This has caused some art databases to conflate Zatzka’s work under the pseudonym Joseph Bernard with the French sculptor with the same name.

Hans Zatzka was born on 8 March 1859 in Vienna. His father Bartholomaüs was a construction worker, and his mother was Marie Karpischek Zatzka. Between 1877 and 1882, he studied at the Academie des Beaux-Arts, under Christian Griepenkerl, Carl Wurzinger, and Karl von Blaas. Zatzka was able to earn a living through the production of frescoes for churches and other institutions.

In 1885, Zatzka was commissioned to create the ceiling fresco The Naiad of Baden at Kurhaus Baden.

During the 1920s, Zatzka’s style became the decor of choice throughout Europe. In addition, the previous thirty years held a resurgence for Zatzka.

In his masterpiece of “Venus and Cupid” – The two figures represent the contrast between sensual, earthly love, embodied by the young Cupid, and spiritual, celestial love, represented by the goddess Venus, who is unmoved by Eros’s kiss.

Many of Zatzka’s works were religious paintings and altar pieces dedicated to various churches in Austria. However, he is more known for his paintings of women, fairies, and other fantastical scenes. Often, he would draw inspiration from the works of Richard Wagner and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, several pieces by Zatzka were photographed and made into commercial and collectable postcards.

Currently, most of Zatzka’s paintings reside in private collections.

Between 1997 and 2008, 619 of his paintings had been sold, amounting to a total value of $945,495. On average his paintings sell for $49,762. The greatest sum a painting has garnered in auction was $176,988.

In 2007, Zatzka’s ‘A superb pair of oval paintings on canvas’ sold at the Aspire Auctions for $53,763.

Provenance: Bought at Auction in Dallas Design District in 1980’s.

Condition: Very Good. Colors and detail still very vibrant. Canvas not perfectly centered/mounted in frame.

Dimensions: 5 Feet (60 inches) Wide, 4 Feet (48 inches) Tall and 3 inches Deep.