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Vienna, second quarter of the 19th century
- Case
- gilt bull's eye frame
- Dial
- oil on metal
- Movement
- verge escapement, Viennese grande sonnerie on wire gongs, repeater, automaton “farrier” coupled with the hour strike, automaton “windmill” coupled with the quarter hour strike, musical movement with 3 tunes by “Ducommun Girod 14759”
- Measurements
- 25 ¼×30 ¼ in
Two automata are integrated into the idyllic landscape of the painting of this Viennese picture clock. In the foreground you can see the workshop of a blacksmith with a journeyman at the forge and the master, who is making a drawbar together with an apprentice boy. The arm of the blacksmith holding a hammer is movable and so he works on his workpiece – triggered by the strike of the hour. A coachman and his horse with a bell-mounted collar are already waiting for the drawbar to be finished.
The second automaton is the wind wheel of a trestle windmill in the river landscape in the background of the picture. This oldest type of mill in Europe was rotatable due to the mounting of the mill house on a single pole, so it could be oriented according to the wind.
The dial is integrated into the tower of the village church. The movement with verge escapement has a Viennese quarter strike on wire gongs as well as a repeater. A musical movement of the renowned Swiss manufacturer „Ducommun Girod“ with 3 melodies provides the musical background for the picturesque scenery.