75×135 cm, oil on canvas
The Austrian Parliament Building with the Pallas Athene statue is one of the most magnificent buildings on the Vienna Ringstraße. It was built between 1874 and 1883 based on the designs of architect Theophil Hansen, who created a complete work of art.
Standing in front of the parliament, the visitor's attention is dominated by a 5.5-meter-high statue of Pallas Athene standing in the middle of a large fountain. Sculptor Carl Kundmann created the statue based on the designs of Hansen, who could not see the finished statue, as Hansen was no longer alive when it was unveiled to the public in 1902.
In her right hand, Pallas Athene holds a small figure of Nike, and in her left hand, a spear. Around her are the personifications of lawmaking (right side) and law enforcement (left side). Directly at the granite fountain, Austria's two main rivers, the Danube and the Inn, are represented by female and male figures.
I used Inn for the painting; more precisely, it was the yearning and longing visible on her face that sparked my imagination. How could I connect the past with the present in a lighthearted way? That is how I swapped the „person” of the Danube for a flesh-and-blood woman.
Everyone can decide for themselves the object of their longing...