Charles Wilda
Austrian Orientalist painter of Cairo scenes
Charles Wilda, originally Karl was an Austrian Orientalist painter. He was the elder brother of the painter, Gottfried Wilda [de]. He studied with Leopold Carl Müller at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. It was Müller who first introduced him to Orientalist painting, having himself acquired that interest from Eugène Fromentin in Paris. In 1903, the Viennese art critic, Ludwig Hevesi, declared Wilda to be Müller's true successor. He often stayed in Cairo for extended periods, and scenes of the daily street life there compose the bulk of his works. In 1892, he undertook a journey through North Africa with his friend, the sculptor Arthur Strasser [de], which provided additional inspiration. Beginning in the 1880s, he was a regular exhibitor at events in Vienna, Berlin, Munich and Dresden. He was also represented by several works at the Exposition Universelle (1900). In 1895, he was awarded the Kaiserpreis [de] for art and, in 1898, was presented with a small, golden State Medal. Two of his paintings were acquired for the Imperial Collection of Kaiser Franz Joseph I. Following his death, the Vienna Künstlerhaus honored him at their Autumn Exposition with over fifty of his oil paintings being featured. He was interred at the Wiener Zentralfriedhof. His grave is adorned with a monument created in 1909 by Hella Unger (1875-1932).
Relationship Network
Master student
- Leopold Carl Müller Master
Fellow student
Influenced by
- Leopold Carl Müller Student
Artworks by this artist (14 total)
- Wäscherinnen am Nil
- The snake charmer
- Ein Herr im Directoire Kostüm
- Girl By a Market Stall 1906
- The Carpet Merchants 1889
- The Guard 1888
- The Snake Charmer 1883
- The game 1888
- A Mystic, Cairo 1890
- The Dancer 1883
- Happy New Year 1883
- Lanner und Strauß mit Kapelle bei einem Ball 1906
- A Souk In Cairo 1887
- The Guard 1884