Max Peiffer Watenphul was born in Northern Germany in 1896. Besides residing in Venice (as of 1946) and Rome (as of 1958), he also spent extended periods in the city of Salzburg. Starting in 1943, he taught here at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts), and in 1963 succeeded Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980) at the Schule des Sehens (School of Seeing, today Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts). This was also the year of his first solo exhibition in the Galerie Welz, an association that lasted throughout his life. During these years, he produced many views of the city of Salzburg.

Salzburg Museum has long housed an extensive collection of Peiffer Watenphul’s works, comprising six paintings and 33 prints. This collection is now being expanded thanks to an extremely generous donation to the museum by the artist’s descendants. The Pasqualucci family, who now live in Italy, have decided to donate eight important oil paintings featuring Salzburg motifs to Salzburg Museum. Together with another acquisition by the Salzburger Museumsverein (Salzburg Museum Association), Max Peiffer Watenphul’s work will now have a special connection with the oldest and most comprehensive institution dedicated to the art of Salzburg.