Alfred Zoff 1852 Graz-1927 Graz

Alfred Zoff studied at the Corporate Drawing Academy in Graz from 1869 under Hermann Königsbrunner. From 1880 to 1884 he studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under Eduard Lichtenfels. He subsequently went to Karlsruhe, where he was taught by landscape painter Gustav Schönleber until 1890. Throughout the following years, the artist found his own realist style which he remained true to for the rest of his career. As a landscape painter Zoff was widely travelled, always on the lookout for motifs, which he amply found in the landscapes of Austria, the Adriatic coast of former Yugoslavia and Italy, the Netherlands, Brittany, Belgium and Bavaria. Zoff was not interested in vedute or dramatic occurrences but rather in portraying detailed, less spectacular, but all the more beautiful views, capturing the changing effects of light. In a broader sense Zoff’s works can be attributed to Austrian Atmospheric Impressionism. The artist lived in Munich until 1898, when he moved to Krems. In 1907 he was appointed a professor for landscape painting and still life at the School of Arts in Graz. Zoff’s masterful handling of colours and his rich, extraordinary oeuvre have earned him a number of prizes and awards, which, along with his regular contributions to prestigious exhibitions, are a testament to his artistic authority.