Hans Canon

Hans Canon was the pseudonym of Johann Baptist Strašiřipka (also rendered as Johann Baptist Straschiripka or Hans Purschka-Straschiripka[1] (15 March 1829, Vienna – 12 September 1885, Vienna) an Austrian history and portrait painter.

His father was related to the princely Starhemberg family and served as an Economic Councilor.[2] He seems to have been an indifferent student, but he did show an interest in art so, in 1845, he was enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna for a brief stay, then studied privately with Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and Carl Rahl.[2] From 1847 to 1855, before completing his studies, he became an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Common Army and served as a cuirassier in the Hungarian Campaign.[3]

His later service in the artillery appears to have provided inspiration for the name “Canon” (although the word may have other meanings),[3] which he began using after Slavic names became a handicap, due to the various separatist movements active in the Empire at that time.