Alfons Walde: Alpinists

The snow-covered wintery landscape paintings of Alfons Walde are intrinsic to the history of cultural tourism. His painting of the Maukalm has a special significance as he used this motif only once, in a commission for his friend, the Kitzbühel hotelier, Max Otto Faller.

The Maukalm alp nestles picturesquely against the imposing 1,200-metre-high rock face of the Lärcheggspitze, the mighty northeast pillar of the Wilder Kaiser massif, whose slender pyramidal shape dominates the Kaiserbach Valley. This alpine idyll has long been considered a hidden paradise for nature enthusiasts and mountain sports pioneers. Among them were two influential figures in the cultural, sporting and tourism history of Kitzbühel: the painter Alfons Walde and his close friend Max Otto Faller (1895–1967).

The two shared a passion for the mountains. Numerous black-and-white photographs from Faller’s estate attest to their many ski tours together and reflect their admiration for the beauty of the winter landscape. These scenes became, in Walde’s paintings, timeless documents of Alpine winter joy. Faller is thought to have been one of the ski tourers immortalised in Walde’s famous motif The Ascent of the Skiers, which was sold for 965,300 euros at Dorotheum in 2021.

Max Otto Faller took over the Kitzbüheler Hof hotel in 1930, where paintings, including those by Alfons Walde, accentuated the special charm of Tyrolean hospitality. A contemporary illustrated newspaper advertisement for the hotel shows the painting Maukalm, which held a special place in Faller’s collection, hanging in pride of place in the hotel lounge. Faller had commissioned the work from the artist with the explicit request that this motif be painted only once – a promise Walde kept. After Faller’s death in 1967, Maukalm remained in the possession of his family, who had emigrated to the USA. The painting, with its wonderful combination of winter light, snow and tranquillity, is not only a symbol of an era of Alpine awakening but also a testament to a deep friendship.