(Oldenburg 1839–1916 Vienna) A design for a ceiling painting in the reception hall of Hernstein castle, titled “Entwurf zu den Plafongemaelden des Empfangsaales im Jagdschlosse Hoernstein”, hunting allegories with goddess Artremis in the center, with dimensions , signed and dated Griepenkerl 1868, pencil, watercolor on paper, 38,5 x 54 cm, mounted, framed, (BH)

The present design for the ceiling painting in the reception hall of Hernstein Castle shows hunting scenes. Hernstein Castle was commissioned by Archduke Leopold Ludwig. The archduke had the former simple residence of the 18th century completely extended and rebuilt into a hunting lodge in the English Neo-gothic style. Between 1855 and 1880, Theophil Hansen created a so-called “Gesamtkunstwerk” - a complete work of art which was designed down to the smallest detail. The frescos in the interior were made by Carl Rahl, Eduard Bitterlich, August Eisenmenger and Christian Griepenkerl. The reception hall is one of the most magnificent halls of the palace. Red and gold are the dominant colors in the room. Griepenkerl signed the ceiling pictures and dated them with 1870. The female portrait of Artemis is in the center;
around the oval picture the artist grouped four allegorical representations. They each show a putto with an animal symbolizing hunting virtues: the lion stands for strength and power, the fox for cunning and artifice, the eagle for speed and accuracy and the ibex for courage and strength. The two outer ceiling paintings represent a hunting scene from the Odyssey and the Calydonian boar hunt (Cf. Gabriele Handl, Christian Handl, Schloss Hernstein, Berndorf 2018, pp 60–65). The present design is dated 1868. There are only minor differences between it and the executed ceiling paintings, such as in the scene of Artemis in the center (dog from right and not left), in the scene of the boar hunt (horses in the background) and in the scene of the putto with the fox which look toward the other direction and the putto holds a mirror in its hand.