E Onken : Untitled fountain and Landscape

The Artist

Carl Eduard Onken, son of a painter, was initially taught by his father. From 1869 to 1879 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Eduard Peithner von Lichtenfels. In the following years, Onken was honored with several awards and scholarships. He traveled to Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany as well as Switzerland. Carl Eduard Onken was a landscape painter who rendered his themes in a realistic manner. His paintings are held by private collections and galleries in Oldenburg, Prague and Vienna.

The Work of Art

The work of art, 'Untitled, Fountain in Landscape'  is one of the oldest works of art in the  University's art collection.  It is a small vignette ( oil on canvas) showing a  courtyard with a fountain  overlooking a gin-blue sea. The image  would not be far from a scene from the Medittereanean. The work was purchased to help instruct students in conservation studies..