Inner Forest (Study for Ave)

• Albin Egger-Lienz (1868–1926)
• 1895
• Oil on canvas
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

In the dim light of a dense forest, the trunks of conifers stand tall. The daylight seeps in but hardly seems to reach the cold ground. Quick, open brushstrokes depict the thick undergrowth. Albin EggerLienz paid most attention to the spiky, splintered branches. By applying light colors in the foreground and darker, pastose colors in the background, the artist has created the impression of spatial depth and absorbed light. This picture was made as a study for his painting Ave Maria after the Battle of Bergisel, which depicts Tyrolean militia praying after the battle in 1809.