Gustav Ritter von Epstein (10 April 1828 – 23 September 1879) was an Austrian industrialist and banker who commissioned the Palais Epstein.[1]
Gustav von Epstein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 April 1828 |
| Died | 23 September 1879 Vienna, Austria |
Biography
editEpstein was born on 10 April 1828 in Prague.[2] He was the fourth child of Leopold Epstein, who was the director of the National Bank at the time,[1] and his wife Caroline, who was from a prestigious textile industry family.[2] After Gustav's father died in 1864, he took over his father's banking business.[1] Due to his philanthropy, in 1866, Emperor Franz Joseph bestowed Epstein with the Iron Crown 3rd Class.[1] The next year, Epstein commissioned the architect Otto Wagner to build him a villa in Baden.[3] Most of Gustav's fortune was destroyed in the Panic of 1873, partially due to Adolf Taussig, who had speculated with Epstein's money before committing suicide later that year.[4] In response, Epstein sold his villa to Archduke Rainer Ferdinand a few months later.[3] Epstein died in 1879 in Vienna.[1]
According to contemporary sources, Brigitte Haentjens described him as following:
Tall and slim, with a beard trimmed in the English fashion. He is serious and sensitive, of weak health and always has a very pale complexion. A well-travelled, multilingual man of education and great interest in art, but a man committed to the public. He does not derive his self-confidence from his money, but from the public respect that accrues to him from his offices and numerous honorary functions.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Palais Epstein: Architectural Jewel on the Ring Road". Parlament Osterreich.
- ^ a b "The Catalogue". katalog.ahmp.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ a b grafikerin (2022-03-21). "Gustav Epstein (1828–1879)". Kaiserhaus Baden (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ Der Selbstmord des Cassiers Taussig. In: Neue Freie Presse, 26 May 1873, p. 3 (Online at ANNO)