Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865) is considered the most important Austrian artist of the 19th century. On the one hand, he produced outstanding works in the artistic disciplines prevalent at the time – portraiture, landscape, still life, and genre painting – and, on the other hand, he was always, throughout his life, in search of accomplishment, striding new paths that led the way into the future. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death on 23 August, the Upper Belvedere honours this most prominent painter of the Biedermeier with a presentation of masterpieces from the Belvedere’s rich Waldmüller collection starting on 17 July 2015. At first glance, Waldmüller’s genre scenes and pictures of children from the period of Viennese Vormärz give the impression of unperturbed ‘Biedermeier’ bliss. Yet through his advocacy of the study of nature and painting en plein air, he point
