TROGER, Paul
(b. 1698, Zell unter Welsberg, d. 1762, Wien)

Christ Comforted by an Angel

c. 1730
Oil on canvas
Museo Diocesano, Bressanone

Paul Troger belonged to a group of decorative painters which grew up under the influence of Andrea Pozzo in Vienna. Pozzo was called to Vienna to decorate the university church and the Lichtenstein palace. Troger settled in Vienna in 1728 and became one of the best representatives of the Viennese Rococo painting. He alloyed successfully the Italian (Venetian and Neapolitan) traditions with the ideas of contemporary Austrian painting. He became director of the Academy of Art in Vienna. His pupils included Maulbertsch.