Antonietta Brandeis

Biography

Antonietta Brandeis was born in 1849 in Miskowitz (Czech: Myslkovice), Bohemia. She studied painting under Karl Javurek in Prague, but soon moved to Venice with her mother and her mother’s second husband, a Venetian. Brandeis continued her education at the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts, where she, one of the academy’s first female students, studied under Professors Girolamo Michelangelo Grigoletti, Frederico Moja, Domenico Bresolin, Napoleone Nani and Pompeo Marino Molmenti. While still a student, she was awarded many prizes for her wonderfully precise painting style. Brandeis participated in numerous exhibitions, primarily at the Promotrice Veneta and in Florence, but also took part in a prestigious international exhibition in Melbourne. From early on, small-format views of her adopted homeland, Italy, fascinated collectors. In 1897, Brandeis married Venetian Antonio Zamboni, an officer and a knight. After 1900, her paintings were mainly exhibited in English art galleries, and her circle of collectors became far more international. After her husband’s death in 1909 she resided primarily in Florence, where she died in 1926.

The artist’s admiration for Venice accompanied her for the rest of her life. Her detailed depictions brought back fond memories of the lagoon city’s many admirers and visitors, already so numerous in the 19th century. Even today, her paintings are sought after by art collectors far beyond the borders of Austria. Brandeis managed to consistenly find new fascinating facets and capture them in her work. Over time many different motifs, Palazzi, and Venetian canals appeared in her paintings, depicted in a variety of lighting effects.