The view overlooking Vienna captured by Jakob Alt harks back to one of the most famous vedute of the city, which was painted by Bernard Bellotto (called Canaletto) between 1759 and 1760, and which is currently housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Captured from a higher perspective than that of his predecessor, Jakob Alt has painted a variation of the iconic 'Canaletto view'. From the Upper Belvedere, which was once the summer residence of Prince Eugene, the view extends over the Lower Belvedere to the heart of Vienna, with St. Stephen?s Cathedral in the center. Other prominent buildings that stand out from the sea of roofs with their easily identifiable, protruding domes, are St. Charles Church in the left middle ground, and across from it on the right, the Salesianerinnenkirche with its adjoining monastery. Jakob Alt, who was originally from Frankfurt am Main, established himself in Vienna above all in vedute painting, a genre in which his sons Franz and especially Rudolf, played a significant role in carrying forward.

The Princely Collections