chromolithograph on paper, 39 x 52 cm, Signed and dated at the bottom middle in black, "Kriehuber (1)849"

Research information

lithograph by Josef Kriehuber; printed by Johann Höfelich

PROVENANCE

Historical collection of the Vrhovac family, Zagreb; from the Bitelj inheritance to the current owner.

This striking 19th-century lithograph, crafted by the esteemed Austrian master Josef Kriehuber in 1849, captures a rare moment of calm amidst the turmoil of the 1848 Revolution. Titled "Bivouac after the Battle of Schwechat" (Bivovac nach dem Gefechte bei Schwechat), this artistic piece takes us to an open-air military camp, immediately following a historical conflict. At the center of the composition is the legendary Croatian military leader and national hero, ban Josip Jelačić. He is depicted in the company of key imperial commanders — including Karl Ritter von Zeisberg and Prince Franz de Paula Joachim of Liechtenstein — surrounded by soldiers resting by the campfire. The scene commemorates the Battle of Schwechat (October 30, 1848), a critical turning point where imperial Austrian and Croatian forces successfully repelled the marching Hungarian revolutionary army towards Vienna. Instead of depicting the violence and dynamics of the battle itself, Kriehuber beautifully emphasized comradeship, exhaustion and silent triumph of warriors, turning a political and military event into a deeply human story.

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