MARCUS PERNHART (1824-1871)
Seeberg Saddle (1,218m- 3, 996ft)
Austria - Slovenia
The mountain
Seeberg Saddle (1,218m- 3, 996ft), Seebergsattel in German, Jezerski in Slovene, or also just Seeberg, is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in the Southern Limestone Alps, between the Karavanke range in the west and the Kamnik–Savinja Alps in the east.
The road across the pass is probably of Roman origin, leading from the Drava valley in the Noricum province towards the city of Aquileia. The border at the summit was implemented after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary by the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain. Today the Seeberg Highway (B 82) heads from the Austrian side up to the border crossing on the pass. Directly behind the Slovenian border station is an inn. On the Slovenian side, the state road No. 210 descends from the Seeberg down to Jezersko, offering a panoramic view of the Kamnik Alps.
Seeberg Saddle is also known as the Carinthian Seeberg to distinguish it from the Styrian Seeberg Pass in the Northern Limestone Alps.
The painter
Marcus (or Markus) Pernhart was a Carinthian / Slovenian / Austrian painter. He is considered the first Slovene realistic landscape painter. He painted several times Triglav.
At barely 12 years, he painted the guest rooms of Krajcar Restaurant between Klagenfurt and Völkermarkt. The innkeeper made, the bishop's chaplain Henr. Hermann discovered the talented boys. At 15, he trained in painting first with Andreas Hauser in Klagenfurt. Hermann supported him further and introduced him to his patron, the Gorizia Archbishop Francis Xavier Luzhin. Through this he got contact with the Viennese art scene, particularly to Franz Steinfeld, who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts. It was forwarded to the Munich Academy, but soon returned to Carinthia. There he was promoted by his stage name Pernhart the famous landscape painter of his time.
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