The painter and lithographer Jakob Alt, born in Frankfurt a. M. in 1789, received his first art lessons in his native town from the miniature painter Johann Peter Beer and his father Johann Friedrich Beer. Contrary to earlier assumptions, Jakob Alt did not study history painting at the Viennese Academy from 1810 onwards, but worked on the new editions of the city vedute by Carl Schütz after founding a family early in his life. His first own commission came from the Viennese music, map and art publisher Artaria with the title "Pictorial and strange views of the various provinces of the Austrian monarchy and the neighboring countries", which was produced between 1813 and 1820. Subsequently, until 1822, he worked together with Johann Christoph Erhard, Jakob Gauermann and Johann Adam Klein on colored outline etchings for the anthology "Pictorial journey through the marvelous alpine regiones of the Austrian monarchy". From 1822 he worked on the anthology "Danube - Views from its source to the estuary in the black sea, After nature and drawn on stone by Jakob Alt", printed and edited by Adolph Friedrich Kunike. At the same time work began on the "Most exquisite views of the imperial and royal Salzkammergut and its surroundings in Upper Austria“ which his son Rudolf Alt completed in 1833. Study trips took Jakob Alt to Upper Italy and Rome in 1828 and 1833. As a lithographer he worked both in the portrait and landscape field. Later he preferred watercolor. Before appearing with independent works, the two sons Rudolf and Franz worked on their father's landscape projects. Jakob Alt died in Vienna in 1872.
Literature
Nachschlagewerke: Thieme-Becker; Österreichisches Künstlerlexikon/Schmidt; Kunst des 19. Jh./Bestandskatalog der Österreichischen Galerie