Woman with a Dark Hat

Clear forms and more intensive colours dominate Faistauer’s work in the following years. A dashed off drawing is transformed into a painting with a bristly brush and the use of varnish, creating the impression of a shining surface in relief. The painter is trying to capture an individual. The woman’s gaze, halfopen mouth and daintily interlocked fingers make her appear lost in thought and reflection. In this picture the combination of colour and shading with solid form has been perfected. In the dark and light areas and combination of planes it demonstrates an invented, individual expressiveness. This painting heralds the artist’s mature phase of the 1920s. An untiring exhibition organiser and active member of the Salzburg artist group called Wassermann, Faistauer also tried his hand at art theory. His book Neue Malerei in Österreich (New Painting in Austria) is an important document for researching contemporary views of Austrian art at that time. Public commissions were another important field in his work. Well-known examples are Faistauer’s frescoes for the Festival Hall in Salzburg, which were removed in 1938, and his ceiling painting at the village church in Morzg near Salzburg.