Rudolf Stolz Museum

Rudolf Stolz, especially known for his masterpiece, the fresco cycle "Danse Macabre" realised in 1924 in the cemetery of Sesto, was born in Bolzano in 1874. In 1943 he moved to Sesto. Like his brothers, Ignaz and Albert, also Rudolf Stolz was a supporter of the Austrian-Bavarian history and genre painter Franz Defregger. Together with his brother Ignaz he also administered the estate of the Austrian painter Albin Egger-Lienz. In 1960 Rudolf Stolz died in Moso near Sesto. In Bolzano, his birthplace, an elementary school is named after the artist.

Already in his lifetime, the autodidact Rudolf Stolz was honoured for his work, e.g. by the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Prize in 1940 and the honorary membership in the South Tyrolean Association of Artists in 1958. Few years after his death, the township of Sesto had a museum constructed according to the plans of his son-in-law, the architect Erich Pattis. It was inaugurated in 1969, whereas in 2010, on the 50th anniversary of his death, the main exhibition hall was rearranged. On this occasion there was also a special exhibition entitled "The painter brothers Stolz". Since 2011, the permanent exhibition "Rudolf and Albert Stolz as war painters 1915/16" has complemented the exhibition. In two showrooms, more than 160 delineations for frescoes as well as numerous aquarelles and studies can be admired by visitors.

The above mentioned "Danse Macabre" at the cemetery in Sesto keeps attracting numerous art enthusiasts. Seven times the death appears in this masterpiece, dancing with various people, all within his power. Rudolf Stolz also created the frescoes in the interior of the Hotel Tre Cime, constructed in 1929 to 1931, which are only open to hotel guests. And how to reach the Rudolf Stolz Museum? It is located in the Via Dolomiti road in Sesto, near another exhibition, the Stabinger Nativity Scene Collection at the Hotel Mondschein. Parking facilities are available in the Via Bersaglio road, also bus connections are available, e.g. bus line 446 from San Candido.