View of the City

In the exhibition View of the City, the Tchoban Foundation presents hand-drawn vedute, panoramas and views from the renowned graphic collection of the Albertina in Vienna. It covers exactly 400 years, spanning from 1561, with Joris Hoefnagel’s a view of Tours, to 1961, with Oskar Kokoschka’s view of Hamburg. Formats ranging from miniatures to large-scale panoramas illustrate the wide diversity of this genre. Drawings with a tonal colour palette contrast with depictions full of chromatic intensity, realistic views enter into dialogue with expressive and abstract cityscapes.

The 32 selected views of cities across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas document the executing artists’ high level of skill, attesting to their masterly use of brush, pen and coloured pencil. Also evident is their trained eye for the choice of location, motif and detail. Usually drawn from an elevated position, these pictures offer a commanding overview of the interplay of geography and urban buildings. Particularly in panoramas, the artists could often adeptly combine several viewpoints in one drawing to create realistic cityscapes.

The exhibition includes works by Giuseppe Zocchi, Anthoine Waterloo, Rembrandt, Carl Schütz, William Hodges, Jakob, Franz and Rudolf Alt, Clemens Holzmeister and Wilhelm Thöny. It is curated by Christian Benedik, long-time director of the Albertina’s architecture collection.

The exhibition was organised in cooperation with the Albertina, Vienna.