Adalbert Stifter

Adalbert Stifter (1805–1868) was an Austrian writer, painter, and educator. Born in Oberplan in southern Bohemia, he studied law and later mathematics and natural sciences in Vienna. For a time, he supported himself as a private tutor. From the 1840s onward he published stories, and from 1850 he worked in Linz as a school councillor and inspector of primary schools in Upper Austria; in 1853 he became the region’s conservator. His major works include the story collections “Studien” and “Bunte Steine” and the novels “Der Nachsommer” and “Witiko.” Stifter was also active as a landscape painter and draughtsman.