Undoubtedly, Walde’s most widely recognized work consists of his winter landscapes. Many of them show evidence of the full power of his expressive side, as it emerged in the aftermath of WWI, while they also reveal a component of “heaviness” that underlies the artist’s perception of natural forms. The distinctive manner in which he depicted the wide, smooth hills around Kitzbühel, with the Wilder Kaiser (a mountain in Kitzbühel) juxtaposed in the background, will forever stand as a tour de force in landscape painting. Walde painted his massive wintery motifs by forming primordial, amorphous and “plasticized” surfaces and structural elements, only to fine-tune them with an uncanny sense of mood and balance. His soft, pastose, almost dry style of painting permitted him to create ever changing nuances of interplaying light, as it literally vibrates across the natural forms he depicted. The stunning blue sky in its full density is also an indispensable element of his landscapes, where the mountains rarely reach the top of the frame in his effort to provide the ultimate amount of contrast.
In virtually all examples of Walde’s most characteristic work, a very expressive message is undeniably evident. In his paintings Winterlandschaft (Winter Landscape), Steinbergkogel and Aufstieg (Ascent) he used a very reduced style of composition. Relying on precise forms, he effectively created a very natural, realistic interpretation. In terms of style, these works (created between 1924 and 1926) are classified as belonging to the movement known as Die Neue Deutsche Sachlichkeit (in English, objective realism).
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Winterlandscape “Winterlandschaft”, 1926 Oil on Canvas, 45,08 x 61,81 in (114,5 x 157 cm) Innsbruck, Tiroler Landesmuseum, Ferdinandeum |
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The Alps in White “Almen im Schnee”, 1926 Oil on Canvas, 50,39 x 39,57 in (128 x 100,5 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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The Alps in White II “Trattalmen”, around 1932 Oil on Cardboard, 13,97 x 11,77 in (35,5 x 29,9 cm) privately owned |
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Short Day “Der kurze Tag”, around 1932 Oil on Cardboard, 16,29 x 27,55 in (43 x 70 cm) privately owned |
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Cable-Car Hahnenkamm “Hahnenkammbahn”, about 1928 Tempera on Cardboard, 21,26 x 19,49 in (54 x 49,5 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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Steinbergkogel “Steinbergkogel”, about 1926 Tempera on Cardboard, 24,8 x 19,49 in (63 x 49,5 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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Bichlalm, Farmland in Kitzbühel “Bichlalm”, 1918 Tempera on Cardboard, 17,32 x 21,65 in (44 x 55 cm) Auktionshaus Hassfurther |
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Powder-Snow “Neuschnee (Kitzbüheler Horn)”, about 1925/30 Oiltempera on Cardboard, 22,05 x 17,32 in (56 x 44 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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Lonely Winter “Einsamer Winter”, about 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 9,06 x 11,42 in (23 x 29 cm), privately owned |
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Farm in March “Almen im März”, 1937 Oil on Cardboard, 19,29 x 27,56 in (49 x 70 cm), privately owned |
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Solitary Farm “Einsamer Berghof”, 1934 Oil on Cardboard, 12,99 x 20,87 in (33 x 53 cm), privately owned |
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Farm “Berghof”, around 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 12,99 x 20,87 in (33 x 53 cm), privately owned |
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Farm, Wilder Kaiser “Hof am Wilden Kaiser”, 1932 Oil on Cardboard, 16,53 x 23,62 in (42 x 60 cm) Auktionshaus Dorotheum |
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House next to the River “Haus am Achrain”, 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 13,19 x 20,67 in (33,5 x 52,5 cm) Auktionshaus Hassfurther |
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Farmhouse, Wilder Kaiser “Am Achrain mit Wilden Kaiser”, um 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 19,29 x 27,55 in (49 x 70 cm) Kunsthandel Freller |
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Idyllic Winter, “Winteridylle”, um 1934 Oil on Cardboard, 16,35 x 20,66 in (42 x 52,5 cm) Kunsthandel Wienerroither&Kohlbacher |
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Ranch in Tyrol “Weiler in Tirol”, 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 13,19 x 20,67 in (33,5 x 52,5 cm) Auktionshaus Hassfurther |
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Main Street in Tyrol “Dorfstraße in Tirol”, 1935 Oil on Cardboard, 13,19 x 20,67 in (33,5 x 52,5 cm) Privatbesitz |
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The Church of Aurach “Tiroler Berghof (Auracher Kirchl)”, about 1927/30 Oil on Cardboard, 23,62 x 16,54 in (60 x 42 cm) Wien, Kunsthandel Wienerroither & Kohlbacher |
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Cross on a Path “Wegkreuz”, 1924 Oil on Canvas, 30,71 x 39,37 in (78 x 100 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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The Andreas-Church in the Sunset “Andreaskirche im Abendrot”, about 1924 Tempera on Cardboard, 16,14 x 16,93 in (41 x 43 cm) privately owned |
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Crosses on Graves “Grabkreuze”, about 1920 Oil on Cardboard, 27,56 x 27,56 in (70 x 70 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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The Way to Home “Heimweg”, about 1926 Oil on Canvas, ca. 5,90 x 7,09 in (ca. 15 x 18 cm) Kitzbühel, Museum Kitzbühel |
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Farmhouse close by Kitzbühel “Bauernhof bei Kitzbühel”, about 1930 Oil on Cardboard, 20,47 x 16,54 in (52 x 42 cm) privately owned |
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Houses on the Mountain “Häuser im gebirge”, around 1932 Oil on Cardboard, 12,87 x 20,47 in (32,7 x 52 cm) privately owned |
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End of Winter “Spätwinter”, around 1932 Oil on Cardboard, 16,14 x 26,37 in (41 x 67 cm) privately owned |
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