Olga Wisinger-Florian

Biography

Born in Vienna in 1844, Olga Wisinger-Florian is considered the Grande Dame of Austrian atomosperic impressionism. Wisinger-Florian was a well-known pianist all throughout Europe in the second half of the 19th century, until she was forced to stop due to physical problems with one of her hands. This drastic turn in her life lead her to dedicate her time to painting. As women weren’t admitted to the Academy at the time, she was tought privately by Melchior Fritsch and August Schaeffer. However, her work was mainly influenced by Emil Jakob Schindler, with whom she and two other aspiring painters, Marie Egner and Carl Moll, went on various study trips. Schindler’s landscapes show characteristics of the French “paysage intime” originating at the École de Barbizon, which would later influence Austrian landscape paintings in general.
As her work became more known, Wisinger-Florian participated in exhibitions and the World exhibitions in Paris and Chicago. She was awarded the “Mention honorable” in Paris in 1888 and was a leading figure in fighting for women’s rights, being president of the Female Writers’ and Artists’ Association for 17 years. Olga Wisinger-Florian died in 1926 in Grafenegg.