1.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
2.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
3.
Museum
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Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public, the goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public. There are many types of museums, including art museums, natural history museums, science museums, war museums, the city with the largest number of museums is Mexico City with over 128 museums. According to The World Museum Community, there are more than 55,000 museums in 202 countries, the English museum comes from the Latin word, and is pluralized as museums. The first museum/library is considered to be the one of Plato in Athens, however, Pausanias gives another place called Museum, namely a small hill in Classical Athens opposite to the Akropolis. The hill was called Mouseion after Mousaious, a man who used to sing on the hill, the purpose of modern museums is to collect, preserve, interpret, and display items of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance for the education of the public. The purpose can also depend on ones point of view, to a family looking for entertainment on a Sunday afternoon, a trip to a local history museum or large city art museum could be a fun, and enlightening way to spend the day. To city leaders, a healthy museum community can be seen as a gauge of the health of a city. To a museum professional, a museum might be seen as a way to educate the public about the museums mission, Museums are, above all, storehouses of knowledge. In 1829, James Smithsons bequest, that would fund the Smithsonian Institution, stated he wanted to establish an institution for the increase, Museums of natural history in the late 19th century exemplified the Victorian desire for consumption and for order. Gathering all examples of classification of a field of knowledge for research. As American colleges grew in the 19th century, they developed their own natural history collections for the use of their students, while many large museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution, are still respected as research centers, research is no longer a main purpose of most museums. While there is a debate about the purposes of interpretation of a museums collection, there has been a consistent mission to protect. Much care, expertise, and expense is invested in efforts to retard decomposition in aging documents, artifacts, artworks. All museums display objects that are important to a culture, as historian Steven Conn writes, To see the thing itself, with ones own eyes and in a public place, surrounded by other people having some version of the same experience can be enchanting. Museum purposes vary from institution to institution, some favor education over conservation, or vice versa. For example, in the 1970s, the Canada Science and Technology Museum favored education over preservation of their objects and they displayed objects as well as their functions. One exhibit featured a printing press that a staff member used for visitors to create museum memorabilia
4.
Winter Palace of Prince Eugene
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The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene, also known as the City Palace, is a high-Baroque palace in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. Located on a street at Himmelpfortgasse 8, the palace was used as the winter residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Winter Palace was designed and constructed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach from 1695 to 1700, the palace was acquired through auction by Empress Maria Theresa for the imperial court in 1738, along with most of the princes other buildings. In 1752, the palace was converted by Nicolò Pacassi into the seat of state institutions. The palace housed the Finance Ministry of the Austrian Empire from 1848 to 1918, since 1919, the palace has housed the Federal Ministry of Finance. From 2007 to 2013, the palace was extensively renovated, the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene is considered one of the most magnificent Baroque edifices in Vienna. In 1694 and 1695, Prince Eugene of Savoy purchased several old houses on Himmelpfortgasse in Vienna, in 1695, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach won the prestigious and lucrative contract to build a palace at this location for the prince. In 1697, Fischer von Erlach began constructing the seven-bay palace, Fischer von Erlachs construction manager was Andrea Simone Carove. The stonemasonry was done by the Viennese master Johann Thomas Schilck, the large portal with side reliefs—Hercules fighting the giant Antaeus on the left, and Aeneas saving his father from burning Troy on the right—was sculpted from Kaiserstein by Lorenzo Mattielli. During this first phase of construction, the staircase with Kaiserstein steps. The sculptures from Zogelsdorfer stone in the stairway were executed by Giovanni Giuliani, material deliveries were made by master Reichardt from Moenchhof Fux. In 1702, the project was taken over by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, during this phase of construction, some of the halls were completed, in particular the gold cabinet with oil paintings. Following the acquisition of the properties, the facade was extended in 1708 by 12 meters. The stonework for this work was provided by the Kaisersteinbrucher master Giovanni Battista Passerini, in 1710, the chapel and a gallery were added. The central focal point of the saloon with its frescoes by Marcantonio Chiarini dates from this time. In 1719, the palace was widened through the acquisition of the western area, the stonework was provided by Elias Hill. Lorenzo Mattielli crafted the entrance reliefs and courtyard fountains, upon the death of Prince Eugene in 1736, his niece Anna Viktoria of Savoy inherited the princes property. The palace was acquired by Empress Maria Theresa for the court in 1738
5.
21er Haus
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The 21er Haus or Einundzwanziger Haus is a modernist style steel and glass building designed by Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer. Between 1979 and 2001, the building acted as a depository for contemporary art works. From 2009 to 2011, it was remodeled by the architect Adolf Krischanitz, Karl Schwanzer designed the building in 1954 for the Austrian governments design competition for the national pavilion at the 1958 Worlds fair in Brussels. In 1955 he was awarded the first prize of the jury, Schwanzer explained that maximum effects had to be achieved with minimum effort as the Austrian budget was tighter than those of most other countries participating at Expo 58. The starting point was to put man at the centre of cultural and intellectual progress, in line with the events motto, Striking a balance for a human world. The building was designed as a structure, its upper 40 by 40 metre floor, six meters above the ground. Schwanzer was awarded the Grand Prix dArchitecture for his visionary design, fritz Wotruba created the monumental figural relief which was installed in front of the pavilion, for which he received the award for the Expos best artwork. On 30 January 1958, the daily newspaper Die Presse described the hall as a virtually ideal foundation for a Museum of Modern Art. After the fair, the pavilion was transferred to Vienna to house the Museum of the 20th Century, hence, the building was widely referred to as 20er Haus. The new museum was opened on 20 September 1962 and it immediately became a hot spot of the Viennese art world. Between 1979 and 2001 the building acted as a depository for contemporary art works, the 20er Haus was finally incorporated into the Austrian Gallery Belvedere in the early summer of 2002. However, the Belvedere museum lacked the funds for the necessary restructuring. As a result the building, which is a cultural heritage site stood empty for years. On 13 June 2008, renovation work started under the supervision of Adolf Krischanitz, at a cost of 31.9 million euros, the carrying capacity of the steel structure was adapted to the requirements of the building code. The ceilings were cleaned of asbestos and the glass roof was made shatterproof. The large window profiles were replaced with energy-saving double glazing, a six-storey office tower on the former parking lot was added with lettering describing the buildings purpose. On 20 September 2011 Federal Minister Claudia Schmied attended the celebration of the completion of the building, following the awarding of the BC21 Art Award for young, innovative artists. On 15 November 2011, the building was reopened after Krischanitz fitted it out as a museum with well organized exhibition spaces, the overall effect is an open museum structure with a total of 2,275 m2 exhibition space on the ground and upper floors
6.
Gustav Klimt
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Gustav Klimt was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, Klimts primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. In addition to his works, which include allegories and portraits. Among the artists of the Vienna Secession, Klimt was the most influenced by Japanese art, early in his artistic career, he was a successful painter of architectural decorations in a conventional manner. He subsequently accepted no more commissions, but achieved a new success with the paintings of his golden phase. Klimts work was an important influence on his younger contemporary Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria-Hungary, the second of seven children—three boys and four girls. His mother, Anna Klimt, had an ambition to be a musical performer. His father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, formerly from Bohemia, was a gold engraver, all three of their sons displayed artistic talent early on. Klimts younger brothers were Ernst Klimt and Georg Klimt, Klimt lived in poverty while attending the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied architectural painting until 1883. He revered Viennas foremost history painter of the time, Hans Makart, Klimt readily accepted the principles of a conservative training, his early work may be classified as academic. In 1877 his brother, Ernst, who, like his father, would become an engraver, the two brothers and their friend, Franz Matsch, began working together and by 1880 they had received numerous commissions as a team that they called the Company of Artists. They also helped their teacher in painting murals in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Klimt began his professional career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings on the Ringstraße, including a successful series of Allegories and Emblems. In 1888 Klimt received the Golden Order of Merit from Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for his contributions to murals painted in the Burgtheater in Vienna and he also became an honorary member of the University of Munich and the University of Vienna. In 1892 Klimts father and brother Ernst both died, and he had to assume responsibility for his fathers and brothers families. The tragedies also affected his vision and soon he would move towards a new personal style. Historians believe that Klimt with the nuda veritas denounced both the policy of the Habsburgs and the Austrian society, which ignored all political and social problems of that time. In the early 1890s Klimt met Austrian fashion designer Emilie Louise Flöge who was to be his companion until the end of his life and his painting, The Kiss, is thought to be an image of them as lovers. He designed many costumes she created and modeled in his works, during this period Klimt fathered at least fourteen children
7.
Egon Schiele
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Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, the twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schieles paintings and drawings mark the artist as an early exponent of Expressionism. Schiele was born in 1890 in Tulln, Lower Austria, as a child, Schiele was fascinated by trains, and would spend many hours drawing them, to the point where his father felt obliged to destroy his sketchbooks. When he was 11 years old, Schiele moved to the city of Krems to attend secondary school. To those around him, Schiele was regarded as a strange child, shy and reserved, he did poorly at school except in athletics and drawing, and was usually in classes made up of younger pupils. When he was sixteen he took the twelve-year-old Gerti by train to Trieste without permission, when Schiele was 15 years old, his father died from syphilis, and he became a ward of his maternal uncle, Leopold Czihaczek, also a railway official. In 1906 Schiele applied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, where Gustav Klimt had once studied, within his first year there, Schiele was sent, at the insistence of several faculty members, to the more traditional Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna in 1906. In 1907, Schiele sought out Gustav Klimt, who generously mentored younger artists, Klimt took a particular interest in the young Schiele, buying his drawings, offering to exchange them for some of his own, arranging models for him and introducing him to potential patrons. He also introduced Schiele to the Wiener Werkstätte, the arts and crafts workshop connected with the Secession, in 1908 Schiele had his first exhibition, in Klosterneuburg. Schiele left the Academy in 1909, after completing his third year, Klimt invited Schiele to exhibit some of his work at the 1909 Vienna Kunstschau, where he encountered the work of Edvard Munch, Jan Toorop, and Vincent van Gogh among others. Once free of the constraints of the Academys conventions, Schiele began to not only the human form. At the time, many found the explicitness of his works disturbing, in 1913, the Galerie Hans Goltz, Munich, mounted Schieles first solo show. A solo exhibition of his took place in Paris in 1914. Schieles self-portraits helped re-establish the energy of both genres with their level of emotional and sexual honesty and use of figural distortion in place of conventional ideals of beauty. Egon Schiele’s Kneeling Nude with Raised Hands is considered among the most significant nude art pieces made during the 20th century, Schiele’s radical and developed approach towards the naked human form challenged both scholars and progressives alike. This unconventional piece and style went against strict academia and elevated a sexual uproar with its contorted lines, Schiele mastered the craft of contouring sexually charged beings to express emotional revolutions. In 1911, Schiele met the seventeen-year-old Walburga Neuzil, who lived with him in Vienna, very little is known of her, except that she had previously modelled for Gustav Klimt and might have been one of his mistresses
8.
Oskar Kokoschka
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Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes. He was born in Pöchlarn, second child to Gustav Josef Kokoschka, a Czech goldsmith and his older brother died in infancy in 1887, he had a sister, Berta and a brother, Bohuslav. Oskar had a belief in omens, spurred by a story of a fire breaking out in Pöchlarn shortly after his mother gave birth to him. Kokoschkas life was not easy due to a lack of financial help from his father. They constantly moved into flats, farther and farther from the thriving center of the town. Concluding that his father was inadequate, Kokoschka drew closer to his mother, he felt that he was the head of the household, Kokoschka entered secondary school at Realschule, where emphasis was placed on the study of modern subjects such as science and language. Kokoschka was not interested in subjects, as he found he only excelled in art. This education of classic literature is said to have influenced his artwork, one of Kokoschkas professors suggested he pursue a career in fine art. Against his fathers will, Kokoschka applied to Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, Kunstgewerbeschule was an extremely progressive school that focused mainly on architecture, furniture, crafts and modern design. Unlike the more prestigious and traditional Academy of Fine Art in Vienna, Kokoschka studied there from 1904 to 1909, and was influenced by his professor Carl Otto Czeschka in developing an original style. Among Kokoschkas early works were drawings of children, which portrayed them as awkward. Kokoschka had no training in painting and so approached the medium without regard to the traditional or correct way to paint. The teachers at Kunstgewerbeschule helped Kokoschka gain opportunities through the Wiener Werkstätte or Viennese Workshops, Kokoschkas first commissions were postcards and drawings for children. Kokoschka said that it gave him the basis of artistic training and his early career was marked by portraits of Viennese celebrities, painted in a nervously animated style. Kokoschka had a passionate, often stormy affair with Alma Mahler and it began in 1912, shortly after the death of her four-year-old daughter Maria Mahler and her affair with Walter Gropius. After several years together, Alma rejected him, explaining that she was afraid of being too overcome with passion and he continued to love her his entire life, and one of his greatest works, The Bride of the Wind, is a tribute to her. The poet Georg Trakl visited the studio while Kokoschka was painting this masterpiece, Kokoschkas poem Allos Makar was inspired by this relationship. He volunteered for service as a cavalryman in the Austrian army in World War I, at the hospital, the doctors decided that he was mentally unstable
9.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
10.
Museum der Moderne Salzburg
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The Museum der Moderne Salzburg has two buildings at two different locations. The Rupertinum in the old town for new artistic concepts opened in 1983, owing to his personal friendship with Oskar Kokoschka the museum also received a great number of works from the Austrian expressionist. In 1983 the Rupertinum was opened as Salzburg Museum of Modern Art, the museums founding director Otto Breicha also integrated the Austrian Photographic Gallery into the museum, which has become the most important collection of contemporary Austrian photography. The Rupertinum, situated in the centre of the old town, was mentioned for the first time in 1350, under archbishop Paris Lodron, the town palace Collegium Rupertinum was used as seminary. Finished in 1633, the palace was built in early baroque style. The house has a prominent location between Franziskaner Church and Kollegien Church and has used as seminary by the Archdioceses of Salzburg for many centuries. Until 1974 the Rupertinum was used as student dormitory, in 1983 the Rupertinum was opened as Salzburg Museum of Modern Art and Graphic Collection. Over the years the facilities of the Rupertinum have been adapted to comply with international standards, today the building offers ideal conditions for exhibitions of graphics and photographs. On Max-Reinhardt-Square the building opens into a typical for houses of Salzburg’s old town. Perched on top of the cliff of Mönchsberg mountain, sixty metres above Anton-Neumayr-Square. An 11-member jury chaired by Luigi Snozzi, selected the design of the Munich-based team of architects Friedrich Hoff Zwink from among 145 submissions, the museum was built in three and a half years and offers maximum possibilities for a variety of exhibition formats on four levels. The entire outer facade is clad with local Untersberg marble, separated by vertical joints, since September 2013 Dr. Sabine Breitwieser is the new director of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. She followed Toni Stooss who was more than 7 years director of the Museum, the exhibitions and activities in both museum buildings show modern and contemporary visual arts. Apart from the presentation of works of art, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg also serves as platform for contemporary representatives of the Austrian art scene. Besides paintings and sculptures the museum owns a collection of graphics. A further focus of the collection is Austrian photography after 1945, official website „Museumscheck“ on 3sat. de, Videos und TV-series about the Museum der Moderne
11.
Michael Pacher
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Michael Pacher was an Austrian painter and sculptor from Tyrol active during the second half of the fifteenth century. He was one of the earliest artists to introduce the principles of Renaissance painting into Germany, Pacher was a comprehensive artist with a broad range of sculpting, painting, and architecture skills producing works of complex wood and stone. He painted structures for altarpieces on a scale unparalleled in North European art, Pachers masterpiece, the St. Wolfgang Altarpiece, is considered one of the most remarkable carved and painted altar shrines in all of European art. It contains scenes from the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, Pachers other great work, the Altarpiece of the Church Fathers, created in 1483 for Neustift Monastery, combined painting and sculpture to produce a unique art form. Pachers influence was primarily North Italian, and his work shares characteristics with that of such as Andrea Mantegna. German influences, however, are evident in his work. Pachers fusion of Italian Renaissance and Northern Gothic realism helped him to produce a personal style of painting. Though Pachers exact date of birth is not certain, he was born c.1435 near Brixen on the slopes of the Alps in the County of Tyrol. Little is known of his training and his earliest recorded work is an altarpiece that was dated 1465 and signed, but which is now lost. Pacher visited Padua in northern Italy, where he heavily influenced by the modern fresco work of Andrea Mantegna. Mantegna was considered the master of perspective, whose stunning. Pachers Italian influences set him apart from most German artists of the time, by 1467 Pacher was a distinguished artist and sculptor in Bruneck, twenty-five miles east of Brixen in the Puster Valley, where he had a workshop for making altarpieces. His skill in carving and painting provided him with employment for German style altars. They usually consisted of carved figural centerpieces, carved Gothic summits on top, a platform where the stands below. Pacher spent much of his time during the 1470s in Neustift by Brixen, in 1484 he was commissioned by the Franciscan Order in Salzburg, to create an altarpiece, portions of which are still extant. Many of Pachers works have been destroyed or badly damaged, some of them during the hostilities in the late 17th century and his most important surviving works are the St. Wolfgang Altarpiece and the Altarpiece of the Church Fathers. His most famous work, the St. Wolfgang Altarpiece, remains in its original location, the altarpiece is a polyptych, or Wandelaltar, where a painting is divided into four or more segments or panels. There are two pairs of wings, and three different displays for use on different occasions, an everyday display, a Sunday display
