Background
It was in Vienna that Rieser gained his first notoriety, based primarily on commissions for altar pieces in various churches as well as a portrait of Kaiser Franz Josef. In 1861, he received an Imperial Scholarship to study in Italy, which he did, residing primarily in Rome for the next three years. It is fair to assume that while living in Rome, Rieser would have come in contact with the various German and Austrian artists related to the Nazarene movement whose influence is clearly reflected in the offered lot. Rieser returned to Vienna in 1865, gaining a position of Professor at the University of Applied Arts. Some of his well-known students included Earnst & Gustav Klimt, Franz Matsch and Hans Gotzinger.
Michael Rieser's parents are buried in the cemetery at Hippach, next to Kardinal Fursterz-Bischof von Salzburg, Dr Katschtahler...’
