Franz von matsch biography

Franz Matsch was born in Vienna on September 16, 1861. Already at the age of 15, he attended the Vienna School of Applied Arts in the class of Ferdinand Laufberger and Julius Berger from 1876 to 1883. He got to know Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst right from the start and together they founded the "Painting Company" towards the end of their training. Supported by their professor, Ferdinand Laufberger, the group was soon commissioned by Fellner and Helmer (such as Karlovy Vary) to create various decorative furnishings for private palaces and especially for theater buildings. In Vienna, the group was able to consolidate its reputation by painting the staircase of the Burgtheater in 1886, and in 1892 it was commissioned by the Vienna University.

In 1892 Matsch was commissioned by the Viennese court to produce a large-format work on the “Triumph of Achilles”. It was intended for the summer palace of Empress Elisabeth on the island of Corfu. The positive echo earned him the title of court painter. Other paintings and designs for monuments followed. One of the most famous paintings in Franz Matsch's diverse oeuvre was “Emperor Franz Joseph in his study in Schönbrunn” in 1916, which was published as an art print on the occasion of the Emperor's death.

The acquaintance with the actress Charlotte Wolter introduced him to the circles of the aristocracy and the rich upper middle class. Private clients ordered portraits, landscapes or still lifes. From 1893 to 1901, he was a professor at the Vienna School of Applied Arts. Due to the combination of the two offices at the age of only 30, coupled with a high level of social and artistic prestige, Franz Matsch was elevated to the nobility in 1912.

In 1895 he married the Viennese industrial daughter Therese Kattus. The couple moved into a spacious villa in Döbling, Vienna, with an attached studio.

He received his last major public contract - the entire design of the Vienna "Ankeruhr" (anchor watch) - in 1912. Matsch was not only responsible for the figures - personalities from Austrian history - and the decorative housing, buut also for the construction of the mechanics.

From 1892 to 1898, Matsch was a member of the Künstlerhaus. His fountain of the dining room for the Palais Dumba was exhibited and honoured at the 1900 Paris World's Fair. He was awarded numerous prizes, including the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph and in 1910 the Order of the Iron Crown 3rd degree. In his late work, there are numerous paintings, mostly for private clients. Franz von Matsch died on October 4, 1942 in Vienna.