Gustav Jahn

Gustav Jahn

Gustav Jahn in 1905
Personal information
Born	(1879-05-17)May 17, 1879
Died	August 17, 1919(1919-08-17)(aged 40)
Nationality	Austrian

Gustav Jahn(17 May 1879,Vienna- 17 August 1919, on theGroßer Ödstein,Ennstal Alps) was a landscape painter,poster artistandmountaineerwho lived most of his life in theAustro-Hungarian Empire.

Early life and education

State Railways Poster

Gustav Jahn was born in 1879 in Vienna. His true passion was mountaineering; an interest which dated from a very early age. Starting in 1895, he attended the private art school operated byAdolf Kaufmann,and in 1896 at age 16 was admitted at theAcademy of Fine Arts, Vienna.There, he studied withAugust EisenmengerandAlois Delugand in 1899 was awarded theGundel-Prizefor excellence.

From 1900 to 1904, he again had private lessons; this time with thegenrepainter,Franz Rumpler.From 1901 onward, he was member of the prestigiousAustrian Alpine Club.He eventually combined his interests; specializing in landscapes and genre scenes of the high mountains. As part of theRome Prizehe won a Kenyon study scholarship in 1904 which he used more for climbing in the Mont Blanc area than painting.

Career

Within ten weeks Jahn painted twelve large-format paintings depicting Austrian life and scenery with people in traditional costumes,which won awards at theWorld Fair of Saint Louisin 1904. The cycle is lost except for one copy. Starting in 1898 as a student, he furnished the illustrations for the catalogs of "Bergsporthaus", a store selling mountaineering equipment owned by ski racerMizzi Langer-Kauba,which was the first of its kind in Vienna. Jahn was close friends with the painterOtto Barth (artist),who also was an enthusiastic mountaineer.

In 1907, the 28-year-old painter and graphic artist was so well known, that he was awarded a major contract to advertise newly completed Alpine railway lines for theImperial Royal Austrian State Railways.Jahn presented these inArt Nouveaustyle, as was typical in Austria for public contracts. While his sheets still had the effect of paintings and were not really flat and "poster like", their design was intended for indoor advertising at stations, for which the decorative character was in the foreground. 16 of the series have been preserved.

His favorite mountaineering areas were theRaxandSchneeberg,Gesäuse,Dachsteinand theDolomites.He participated in the first ascent of theGroße Bischofsmütze.

Fassa Valleywith a view of theRosengarten Group

Jahn was a committed skier andski jumperwinning over twenty-eight awards during the course of his career.These achievements led to his serving as an instruction officer duringWorld War Iteaching mountain warfare in the Dolomites, a time during which he also painted on the side.

In August 1919, he and his climbing partner, Michael Kofler rode the train toGstatterbodenfor a climbing tour. After successfully climbing theHochtornorth face, the two wanted to climb the northwest ridge of theÖdstein,but suffered a fatal fall of 400 meters.The cause of their fall remains unclear. It probably occurred at a key point of the wall, the Preuss crossing, which is difficult to secure (climbing grade IV-V). He was buried at the Bergsteigerfriedhof inJohnsbach.

Legacy

Jahn inspired younger painters to paint like him, for example Stoibner or Emmerich Schaffran. He popularized mountaineering at a time when wider society made fun of rock climbing.

A climbing route on the North face of the Hochtor is named after him (Jahnweg),as well as on the south face of theGroße Bischofsmütze.

Further reading

• Hanns Barth:Personalnachrichten. Alpenmaler Gustav Jahn †.In: Heinrich Heß (Ed.):Mitteilungen des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins.Neue Folge Vol.XXXV, 1919,ZDB-ID511820-7,S. 110 f. (Online beiALO).

External links

• Landesgalerie Niederösterreich (2022-11-11)."Exhibition Alpine Seilschaften, 05 11 2022 - 08 10 2023".lgnoe.at(in German).Retrieved2022-11-11.