After studies at the Vienna Academy, Darnaut spent three years at the Düsseldorf Academy, then at the height of its fame. In 1876 he returned to settle in Vienna permanently. The majority of his paintings concentrated on scenes of the Austrian landscape, rendered in a grandiose style reminiscent of the Düsseldorf School. His most famous works were those commissioned for Vienna's Naturhistorisches Museum, depicting scenesfrom the Austrian mountains. He served as president of the Society of Viennese Artists during the years of World War I, evidence of his continuing, if conservative, involvement in the artistic activities of the Austrian capital.

Erika Esau, Pre-Modern Art of Vienna 1848-1898, Edith C. Blum Instutute of Bard College, 1987.