Wien - Augartenbrücke

 

Max Pollak

  1886 - 1970 (biography)

c. 1917  

drypoint with roulette, printed chine colle 

4 1/8 x 6 3/4" platemark 

pencil, lower right (within platemark) 

not stated; presumed fewer than 20 impressions 

pencil titled, lower left (within platemark); bears red Friedl Pollak Collection stamp, lower left sheet corner 

 

delicate ivory laid collaged to heavy, sturdy cream wove 

published 

artist 

23972 

$425.00 

Created sometime during the 1910s, this image serves as an historic record of a now-lost iteration of the Augarten bridge, a noted landmark of Vienna's architectural development.

Since 1782 there has been a bridge in this location, crossing the Donaukanal to connect the 1st and 2nd districts (Innere Stadt and Leopoldstadt) within the bounds of Augarten park. Having been rebuilt several times, this particular version - seen with it's ornately carved granite pillars and elegant suspended frame - was remodeled in time for the Vienna World's Fair of 1873. By 1927, however, heavier forms of transportation and a growing population meant that the narrow wooden deck was a danger. It was rebuilt twice to compensate for weight before being fully detroyed by bombing during World War II. It was rebuilt in 1946 in its current iteration.

When Max Pollak created this work he was just starting out as an independent artist. He would be drafted as a war artist into the Austrian army during the First World War and by the end of the 1920s he would be living in New York. This image captures a moment in Austria's architectural history before sweeping changes permanently altered its facade.