Rudolf Ribarz is one of the most important Austrian Impressionist painters of the 19th century. In 1868 he became a member of Vienna´s Kunstlerhaus (Art House). From 1876 till 1892 the artist had been living in Paris were he met Donbigny, Dupre and Corot. During this period he visited Barbizon, Normandie and travelled to Holland. In 1892 Ribarz came back to Vienna to head a department of the Art School. The artist´s composition of this picture illustrates the daily life of the bourgeoisie in the gardens of Versailles, 22 km southwest of Paris.

Versailles, capital city of Yvelines, Paris region, norhern France. The city developed around the 17th-century palace built by Louis XIV, the principal residence of the kings of France and the seat of the government for more then 100 years. Gardens of Versailles, the masterpiece of Andre le Nothre, have become part of the national heritage of France and one of the most visited hisoric sites in Europe. The German army besieging Paris in 1871 the German emperor was crowned there. The consitution of the Third (French) Republic was proclaimed here in 1875. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) between the Allies and Germany was signed in the palace, which was again restored and modernized under President Charled de Ganlle (see the new Encyclopedia Britanica, vol. 12)

Literature: "Austrian Artists Dictionary "by Heinrich Fuchs, Vienna 1974 ;Thieme/Becker "Lexicon of artists from antique to contemporary", Leipzig, 1999.

Inscription: signed R.Ribarz, lower left

Technique: oil on canvas. Salon gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed w 21 1/2" x h 30" (54.5 x 76 cm), framed w 30" x h 39" (76 x 99 cm)

Condition: in good condition, unlined, no craquelures