Great successes, deep sorrow.

In our blog's seventh and final installment about the painter Anna Stainer-Knittel, who achieved fame in German-speaking countries as "Geierwally," we describe the last phase of this courageous and self-confident woman's life. Financial success, the move to the Trapp Palace on Maria-Theresien-Straße, her growing children, a trip to Venice, and the painful loss of her daughter Rosa mark the final years of this extraordinary woman's life.

As described in the previous episode, the Vienna World Exhibition of 1873 was a surprising financial success for Anna Stainer-Knittel. Her submitted picture was sold to England for 500 guilders (around €12,000). Unfortunately, it has been lost ever since, and all that remains is a sketch of the picture.

Pencil sketch of the painting that Anna Stainer-Knittel sent to Vienna for exhibition, which earned her the enormous sum of 500 guilders at the time, as she noted below the sketch. The painting was sent to England but is unfortunately ‘lost’. Image from: Nina Stainer, ‘Anna Stainer-Knittel, Painter’.

'Spared' from cholera?

Anna and her husband Engelbert did not miss the opportunity to visit the exhibition. There she was able to see her picture in an adjoining room. Impressed by Hans Markart's giant painting "Venice pays homage to Catharina Cornaro," by fabrics, works of art, and machines, she summed up her memories: "The World's Fair and life in noisy Vienna had completely confused us both; we were almost completely dumbfounded by everything we had seen and heard, and we both had a mild bout of cholera, but we soon recovered thanks to the care of our dear, hospitable Mrs. Pöll, and now the ground was burning beneath our feet, and we breathed a sigh of relief when we had left Vienna, that terrible, hideous Vienna, behind us."

After returning from Vienna, Anna could no longer hold a paintbrush. The reason for this remained a mystery. A more extended stay in her native Lechtal valley, combined with field work, allowed her to resume her artistic work.

Moving into the ‚Trapp Building‘

In addition to souvenir painting, she devoted herself to botanical studies with a high degree of detail. During this period, she produced wonderful depictions of various flowers and plants. The move to Maria-Theresien-Straße into the “Trapp” house opposite the Landhaus also opened up new business opportunities.

In the meantime, her two sons, Leo and Karl, completed their secondary education. While Leo completed an apprenticeship with his father and spent several years training in Berlin, Karl decided to study medicine. Rosa and her younger sister Emma attended a sewing school in St. Nikolaus.

The Stainer-Knittel family in a family photo from 1890. In front are Engelbert and Anna, behind them from left to right: Leo, Emma, Karl, and Rosa. Image from: Nina Stainer, “Anna Stainer-Knittel, Painter.”

Traumatic experiences then marked the family history. After completing his doctorate, Rosa became engaged to a pharmacist who took over a pharmacy in Kössen and immediately began an affair with another woman. Rosa broke off the engagement, and her health increasingly suffered as a result of this disappointment.

The trip to Venice, Italy

In 1892, Engelbert and Anna celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, the couple took a trip to Venice. Anna describes the journey in some detail in her memoirs. They traveled via Trento, Lake Garda, Vicenza, and Padua, finally arriving in Venice. "In my youth, I dreamed of coming here as an art lover, and now I come here as an old woman," Anna said.

Their extensive sightseeing tours also included the Doge's Palace, which she described coolly: "At first magnificent, beautiful, then interesting, and finally terrible, gruesome, and repulsive, one leaves the palace in disgust, where Venetian despotism erected such monuments." She was deeply moved by her first view of the sea, which she enjoyed at Lodo. "That afternoon was the most beautiful of the whole trip."

Deep sadness

Upon their return to Innsbruck, it became apparent that Rosa's health had deteriorated. Emma had not only become engaged to Ernst Pechlaner, but was already making concrete wedding preparations. Rosa's health continued to deteriorate, and even a week-long spa treatment in Merano brought no relief. Anna was filled with fear and horror when her daughter, Rosa, who was marked by death, returned home. Her third-oldest child died the next day.

The beautiful portrait of Rosa Stainer, by her mother Anna. Image from: Nina Stainer, ‘Anna Stainer-Knittel, Painter’.

The following year, Karl completed his medical studies and moved with his wife to Wattens, where he became a community doctor. Leo took over the business in Maria-Theresien-Straße, while Anna and Engelbert moved to Templstraße, initially continuing to help out in the shop. Engelbert died on September 13, 1903, from a stomach ailment. Anna spent much of the following years with her son in Wattens and was able to attend an exhibition dedicated to her at the Ferdinandeum in 1911.

The Trapp House on Theresienstraße. As the photo shows, Leo has already taken over the business premises. ©Innsbruck City Archives Collection

A self-portrait as a summary of a fulfilled life

A self-portrait was to be her last work of art. It shows a determined older lady with a palette in her left hand in front of her painting “View of Untergiblen.” It is as if she wants to remember her childhood and youth once again. In the foreground of the portrait are alpine flowers in a vase and in a wooden basket. It is as if she wants to sum up her life's work.

The last work by the great Tyrolean painter was her self-portrait. It seems as if she wanted to give a kind of summary of her life. Picture from the Stainer family estate in Wattens, where she painted the picture.

Anna Stainer-Knittel died on February 28, 1915, from pneumonia at her son Karl's house in Wattens.