1686Paul and Peter Strudel
The brothers Paul, Peter and Dominik Strudel from the city of Cles in ‘Val di Non’ were the first artists to make regular use of Lasa’s marble. They begun a proper extraction business and were granted concessions by the relevant authorities.
The three brothers had received a professional training in their village’s carving workshops and had continued their work with Carl Loth from Monaco di Baviera, with the architect Baldassare Longhena and with Flemish sculptor Giusto de Conte in Venice.
From 1686 they were in Vienna where they strenuously tried to obtain the favors of several patrons such as the princes Johann Adam I Liechtenstein and Johann von der Pfalz.
Dominik Strudel (1667-1715) was an inventor and was able to conclude contracts for the improvement of drainage systems in mining sites. His brother Peter made a career as court and chamber painter. The two sculptors Paul and Peter Strudel initiated Vienna’s fascination with marble.
