JOHANN MATTHIAS RANFTL Vienna 1804 - 1854 Trapped dog Signed Ranftl and dated 1844 lower right Oil on canvas, 90X107 cm Johann Matthias Ranftl was one of the most important painters of the Biedermeier period, distinguishing himself as a landscape painter. However, his best talent was expressed in animal painting, without neglecting portrait, historical and religious painting. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he studied with Giovanni Battista Lampi and Peter Kraft. The latter encouraged him to undertake study trips, which took him to Germany and Switzerland. In 1826, the young artist travelled as far as St. Petersburg and Moscow. Returning to the work under examination, Ranftl's predilection for depicting animals, particularly dogs, emerges, to the point of being nicknamed the 'Dog-Raphaël' by his contemporaries.