Racecourse Iffezheim - Painting by Johann Baptist Heinefetter 1861

This is one of my favorite exhibits at the City Museum of my hometown, Baden-Baden.
Object No. 1801

"Iffezheim Racecourse"
Oil on canvas, 1861
Johann Baptist Heinefetter
Mainz 1815 – 1902 Baden-Baden

A detailed description by the museum's curator, Heike Kronenwett, can be found here:
www.theeuropeanspa.eu/materials/spa-voices-and-artifacts/artefacts/virtual_exhibit_baden_baden.html

I quote the English text:

„When Edouard Bénazet took over the operation of the casino from his father Jean-Jacques in 1848, he was looking for new attractions to secure Baden-Baden's status as a world-class spa. Bénazet had a racecourse built on a site in the Rhine plain near Iffezheim, modelled on Longchamp, with visitor pavilions for princes and "spectators of higher rank". The first race started on 5 September 1858, they and quickly became the social highlight of the season.
This impressive painting by Johann Baptist Heinefetter (Mainz 1815 - 1902 Baden-Baden) was based on a photograph by the Karlsruhe photographer Charles (Karl) Werzinger, who had a permanent studio in Baden-Baden since 1858. Obviously, the media professional Bénazet recognized the advertising potential of this picture. In the spa paper (Badeblatt) of 5.9.1861, a short notice stated that the painting could be admired in the Conversation House thanks to the kindness of the casino proprietor, and that the photographer had in turn produced prints of it, which were offered for sale on the promenade.
What is interesting is the angle from which the photographer took the scene. From his point of view, he could see the entire racetrack. The buildings (on the left the royal lodge) form the centre of the picture, yet they are in the background. Prominently put in the foreground are those who could not afford the expensive entrance fees - country people, citizens and numerous soldiers, probably from the nearby garrison in Rastatt. Until just a few years ago, the so-called "Kapellenbuckel" (right side in the picture) was the area from which you could follow the race action free of charge.“
Curator: Heike Kronenwett

Due to the lighting in the exhibition room and the resulting strong reflections on the painting, the upper third of the sky was cropped out of the photograph. Furthermore, the original colors were more strongly accentuated in the photographic reproduction.

Here some information about the painter himself:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Baptist_Heinefetter

Incidentally:

To this day, the horse races in Iffezheim remain one of the main attractions of the World Heritage city of Baden-Baden.
But why in the village of Iffezheim—far out in the Rhine Plain, beyond the Baden-Baden city limits?
Quite simply: the Baden-Baden valley is too narrow and lacks the necessary space.