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"Great is the power of memory that dwells in places." (from Cicero)

Self-portrait of a female wood carver

Katharina Kasslatter, known as Trina da Gustin, was one of the first  students at the specialist school in Wolkenstein, opened in 1908. This small sculpture out of Swiss pine depicts her sitting on her work stool wearing her traditional costume. Kasslatter started learning wood carving from her mother when she was eight years old. She signed her works in order to set herself apart from anonymous domestic producers.

Wall panelling Paris 1925

Students and teachers of both art schools in Gröden made a panelled room for the 1925 International Exhibition in Paris that was awarded the Grand Prix and three other medals for its sculptural features. The panelling is an example of the stylistic renewal going on in Gröden art during the wars, which was mainly thanks to the head of the art school at the time, Guido Balsamo Stella.

Diana

This carved, unvarnished sculpture shows Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, with her right arm around a deer and a bouquet of flowers in her left arm. There is a bow and arrow in front of her. This small figurine is an expression of the stylistic renewal going on in the two Gröden art schools, which started to embrace art nouveau during the 1920s under the management of Guido Balsamo Stella. 

World exhibition of medals Paris 1925

In 1925, both art schools in Gröden took part in the International Exhibition in Paris. Albino Pitscheider, a master in carving small works of art and art teacher in Wolkenstein from 1910 to 1924 as well as from 1919 to 1940, was awarded a gold medal along with his colleague Lusi Insam. The octagonal medal shows an allegory of spring on one side, while it has a bouquet of flowers on the other side. 

Sella group in its alpenglow

This tempera painting of the Sella massif (in Ladin Sas dla Luesa, Mëisules) bathed by the evening light comes from Peter Demetz da Fëur (1913-1977), who taught in the art schools in Wolkenstein and St. Ulrich after the Second World War. The motif of the Dolomites unspoilt by human hand was often employed by this keen hiker.