Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868) was an Austrian writer, painter and poet closely associated with the Biedermeier movement in European art. Following his studies at the University of Vienna, he worked as a tutor for aristocratic families before becoming a supervisor of elementary schools. He is particularly renowned for the vivid descriptions of natural landscapes in his writing, and has been celebrated by both German and English writers including Rainer Maria Rilke, Thomas Mann, W.G. Sebald, W.H. Auden and Herman Hesse.