Town Hall in Wrocław (1895) by Waldau GreteCity Museum of Wrocław
The Town Hall
The Wrocław Town Hall is a wonderfully preserved medieval building and at the same time a place where the most important decisions for the city were made for about 600 years. No wonder that the Town Hall fascinated artists from different eras. Painter Grete Waldau was one of them.
Grete Waldau
She was an extremely ambitious woman, distinguished from the background of her era. The artist was born on March 14, 1868, and not only did she specialize in architectural painting, which at that time was not considered as a "female occupation"...
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but also undertook studies in the field of mathematics, architecture and perspective - other "non-female" fields.
Education
Although she undertook classical art education in Wrocław, Nuremberg and Berlin, most of her achievements came from independent work. Despite her education, historical sources speak of her as self-taught.
Topics
Contrary to the majority of female artists of that time who painted flower compositions or still lifes, Grete devoted herself mainly to painting vedute or individual buildings. In addition, she took up industrial topics by painting pictures depicting the work of sheet metal rolling.
Recognition
The artist was not only able to specialize in "male" fields, but also managed to gain universal recognition. This is clearly evidenced by official, state orders submitted to the artist, for example for large murals in public buildings.
The painting at the post office in Oldenburg was widely echoed in the press. For these works, the artist was awarded in Oldenburg with a great gold state medal, which in her case took the form of a diamond brooch awarded by the emperor.
Exhibitions
She participated in significant exhibitions, the most important of which was the 1900 Paris World Exhibition, where she presented views of the city of Gutenberg in Mainz and the market square in Leipzig.
Exhibitions
And the world exhibition from St. Louis from 1904, where paintings of the new university buildings in Berlin were exhibited. Her works from world exhibitions were appreciated by critics, Waldau was awarded a great gold medal in Paris, and in St. Louis with a silver medal.
The Town Hall painting
A large canvas depicting the medieval town hall comes from its early period in Wrocław. The picture was painted around 1895.
The seat of the municipal authorities was captured on the south-eastern side, on which there is a characteristic peak with a sundial. The building depicted in this way has become a topic often raised by artists of different eras.
The work of Waldau is extremely detailed and enlivened by staffage and genre scenes. The artist presented the old stalls that once surrounded the town hall, and at the south-eastern corner she stopped for carriages.
The painting is very valuable for the study of the city's iconography, as it contains many elements that no longer exist today. Apart from those already mentioned, the tram rails on the left side of the painting.
And in the background, on the site of today's statue of Aleksander Fredro, are also worth paying attention to, a statue of the Prussian king Frederick William III.
The painting is also an example of the mastery that Waldau has achieved in rendering perspective and light. Correct rendering of the town hall in perspective with all its towers, bay windows and architectural details is a big challenge, which the artist has dealt with very well.
In addition, the painter with skill and sensitivity showed the sharp, probably summer sun, the play of shadows on the facade of the town hall.
The painting of the Wrocław Town Hall by Grete Waldau is one of the most interesting objects in the collection of old paintings in the collection of the Wrocław City Museum.
Natalia Bobryk-Mauer
