Although he was himself of German origin on his father's side, he was very critical when judging the paintings of the German tradition. Through direct experience he approached the works of art in an unconventional manner and set original philosophical accents in his manuscript "Vision und  Darstellung" (Vision and Representation). In any case, he had a rather provocative opinion that differed from the mainstream view.

He recognized, for instance, that C.D. Friedrich, C. Spitzweg and the Swiss J.-L. Agasse and A. Böcklin mastered their technique, and that W. Leibl and A. von Menzel were authentic and serious artists, too. Nevertheless, he found the characteristics of "transcendental painting" less pronounced in the art of the German-speaking countries than it was, for instance, in the Italian or in the Dutch-Flemish tradition.

Thus, he had a greater appreciation for the early German painters listed on the upper left side, a list to which names such as A. Altdorfer or Ch. Amberger can be added.

Of all his contemporaries he paid the greatest tribute to Werner Weber (1892 - 1977), a Swiss painter who is almost unknown. Being only a few years older, Weber cannot be considered as model at all, but, being an outsider working in parallel with Vietinghoff and having a similar way of seeing and appreciating the same models, he falls in this category.