Featured 19th Century Franz Schweighofer watercolor of St. Colombano Bridge

I purchased this watercolor yesterday at an estate sale for one of our local antique dealers. They had very reasonable prices, unusual as of late. From what I have been able to determine using Google translate: The painting was done by Franz Schweighofer, who appears to have been an artist, engineer and some sort of royal patrolman or road master. The designation K.K. is Kaiserlich-koniglich or Imperial Royal, given out by the Hapsburgs (1804-67). I believe it was painted (in nature) or on sight. It is a painting of the St. Colombano bridge on the new commercial road above Vallarsa. The painting was reframed sometime in the 1960's or 70's at one of the local frame shops in Kalamazoo.
There is some writing penciled on top of the mat in the lower left corner.

I would like some help with finding the history of the bridge and possibly a photograph. I am curious about the little building to right of the bridge. I would also like to see a good signature example for the artist. I was only able to find a couple fuzzy photos of drawings by the artist that had signature examples. I would also like to find a little more about exactly what a Strassenmeister was or what their duties were.

 

Might be the San Colombano Hermitage?
https://www.trentino.com/en/leisure...-in-autumn/to-the-hermitage-of-san-colombano/

The bridge:
https://www.cultura.trentino.it/Fotografia-Storica/S.-COLOMBANO-ROVERETO-IL-PONTE-PRIMA-DELLA-GUERRA

 

Thanks! Looks right to me.

 

I can understand wanting to get across that bridge in a hurry, but it may be a bit of an inopportune time to be whipping that horse in the @$$

 

I'm getting the impression that the bridge isn't there now. It may have been destroyed in WWI.

This is called a topographical view. It's possible that the relationship between the hermitage and the bridge is not as depicted, but the painter wanted to get them both into the image.

 

not necesserally destroyed but already neglected before because there were railroad lines built as well.
if there were remnants then they might have been integrated in the new dam from the 1960s. electricity was all the rage then...
the hermitage Eremo di San Colombano is still existing.
the old street is now on the crown of the dam.

Commerzial-Strasse is a bit old-fashioned; today it would be called Saumpfad, the old merchant trails following the same paths since Roman times.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saumpfad

in the 19th c. the Austrians wanted to get a better grip on the Italians because those wanted to become independent.

in those regions there was a mix of Italian/German/Lombard dialects and Roveredo is Rovereto now etc.

 

I came across a photo of the dam and wondered if that might be the case. You can find Eremo di San Colombano on Google maps and it does not seem to be in close proximity to the dam (or any bridge).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leno_di_Vallarsa_-_diga_Speccheri.jpg

 

https://www.google.ch/maps/place/Ei...1f77c94fbb7a2153!8m2!3d45.878469!4d11.0616037

 

So, yeah, if the dam replaced the bridge, there's artistic license in that composition.

Honestly, I want to go there and climb up above the hermitage to see if there's any trace of a bridge.

 

beautiful region. the Trentino was a passing region from the North to Venice and so interesting that the old Swiss wanted to "acquire" it as passage to the Adriatic Sea as a further canton.

 

Thanks so much for all of the great information. It does look like a beautiful place. I did take a bus trip many years ago and we went from Austria to Italy. I suspect the painting was done 1840’s-1850’s. The artist died in 1861. There are some decent examples of his drawings on net.

 

typical old path in Roman style.

here another one
https://www.luganoregion.com/de/seh...d/49421/der-historische-weg-des-montecenerino

which they used for military training (those basterds...) starting at 5 pm with 15 kilogram rucksack plus arms, marching down into the plain; down there they fed us a good healthy portion of Risotto ...
and then all the way back upwards in the dark...
many collapses...

 

Strasse is road. Meister is master. That would be the roadworks supervisor.

translation from Google: "Based on the Nalur and drawn by the KK road foreman and engineer Franz Schweighofer"

If the word Nalur is really Natur with a T it means based on Nature, which makes more sense. Hard to see in the photo online.

 

"Nach der Natur aufgenommen und gezeichnet..." recorded and drawn after the nature" which means that the first sketches were drawn in situ; does not exclude though that he didn't paint it in his home or office.
Strassenmeister und Ingenieur means that he was responsible for the layout of the road, for the material that was used and for the maintenance.

 

Fid beats Google translate!! Of course.

 

google is a good tool. but not more than a tool.

 

PS: a good example to show the limits of google. how should they know the professional systems of old and tired Europe ?
this here follows the German system that was widely used also in adjacent countries.
first step is a three year apprenticeship as Strassenbauer (road builder). that's the ones that work outside all year, were not the sharpest knives in the drawer during their schooldays, always have a beautiful bronze complexion, drink most beer and don't need to go to the fitness studio.

after 3 years they have to work - in most countries - 3 to 5 years on the job to gain experience and learn the tricks from the older ones. when the chief thinks he's sly enough they go to school again besides working for 2 years and - after passing the final tests - Strassenmeister; the knowledge is much deeper and includes administration, theory, leadership, accounting, maintenance, technical drawing etc..

when he's so good and bright that he managed bigger building sites on his own, then he's sent after another 5 to 10 years by the employer to a technical school for civil engineering and becomes Ingenieur.