MODERN PAINTINGS GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN MASTERS COLLECTED AND CATALOGUED JOSEF STRANSKY / 4092 ^■iHHH^^^aai^^B^^HHi^Bai^^^H^^HI Modern Paintings By German and Austrian Masters Collected and Catalogued By Josef Stransky New York 1916 Copyright, 1916, by Josef Stransky PREFACE The New World has but slight knowledge of nineteenth-century German painting. France has sent works of her most eminent masters to America, while Germany for decades past has ex- ported across the ocean paintings that have appealed not to the art lover but to those without discernment, — anecdotal and sen- timental pictures lacking any artistic quality, works in which the subject counted for everything and the rendering for nothing at all. At a time when an understanding of such things was in- creasing in America among ever-broadening circles, public opinion condemned these pictures, which were indeed contrary to all that is to-day accounted good painting. It is true that Germany produced no prominent painters from the days of Durer and Holbein down to about the middle of the nineteenth century. At that time German art began to bloom again with a splendid quality of its own, differing in character and essence from the art of other nations. The assertion of this fact has met in this country with distrust and contradic- tion, and the usual German picture in American collections has been cited as proof of the artistic inferiority of Germany. It was not known that these pictures aroused in Germany the same criticism that they called forth in the New World. For Germany has not been narrow in her judgments of art. Modern French painting, for instance, is highly appreciated there, and a large number of works on modern French painters have been written by German art critics. French literature may be searched in vain for more profound treatises on art than those by Meier-Graefe on Delacroix, Corot, Manet, and the others. German collectors own wonderful examples of the French masters. In some instances they have been among the earliest to recognize genius which has since been generally acknowledged. Like the musicians Berlioz and Bizet, the painter Courbet was first understood in the Germanic countries ; German and Austrian painters brought back accounts of the wonders of the Barbizon School and of the Impressionists and thereby prepared an enthusiastic reception for French art among their countrymen. France, on the other hand, was the first to call the attention of the Germans to the high artistic merits of their own Leibl and Liebermann. During the rare hours of leisure which my musical profession has granted me, I have devoted myself to the study of works of art, and especially of paintings. This awakened in me the desire for a collection of my own, and, recognizing the impor- tance of the creations of the German and Austrian masters of this latter day, I have acquired works by them only. Most of these pictures I brought with me to America a few years ago. I have been able to secure pictures by painters who in Ger- many and Austria are recognized as the best. Professor Dr. Heinz Braune, Director of the Royal Pinakothek at Munich, has written the introduction for the German edition of the cata- logue of the collection. He concludes it as follows : "No one will regret the fact that this beautiful and rich collection is now not in Germany, but, like a far advanced guard, has found its way to America. This circumstance may be an indication that the time has come when the German intellectual and artistic world will begin to win for itself in peaceful conquest across the great sea the attention which is due to its significance and strength." This catalogue in English is published in the hope that the illustrations and the few explanatory words which I have written about each painter may interest the American art-lover, so that he may seek a more thorough acquaintance with the artists mentioned. Josef Stuansky. New York, November, 191 6. Civ} LIST OF ARTISTS REPRESENTED AND THEIR WORKS THE CLASSICISTS (German Romanic School) Anselm Feuerbach . Hans von Marees Max Klinger Portrait of Himself Evening Forest-scene Heroic Landscape 9 15 Wilhelm Leibl Johann Sperl Louis Eysen . Charles Schuch Wilhelm Triibner Theodor Alt . Hans Thoma THE LEIBL CIRCLE The Actor Portrait of Himself Bavarian Landscape In the Garden Landscape Landscape near Bernried Apples Mill in Prags Landscape near Perch . Still-life Beech-trees near Bernried The Woman with Radishes The Nun .... The Guardian Portrait of Himself . Castle Hemsbach, lOOJf Castle Hemsbach, 1905 View on Lake Starnberg The Bowling-alley . Peasant Houses . Orange Grove in Sorrento Summer Night 21 25 31 35 41 47 51 55 59 63 69 70a 73 77 81 85 89 93 99 103 109 113 THE MUNICH SCHOOL Wilhelm von Lindenschmit. Karl Spitzweg . Fritz von Uhde . Hugo von Habermann Albert von Keller Franz von Stuck Toni Stadler Heinrich von Ziigel Luther and the Reformers at Marburg . The Letter-carrier The Picture-book In the Garden . Piloty's Studio . Dressing for a Dance Castle Unsleben Rococo Park Portrait of the Artist's Wife In the Garden of the Villa Wolkonski in Rome . Carmen Bavarian Landscape The Sheep-farm (Wolkcnhof) Shepherd and Flock 119 125 131 135 141 145 149 155 159 163 169 175 181 185 THE BERLIN SCHOOL Adolpb von Menzel Max Liebermann Max Slevogt Lovis Corintb Walter Leistikow Gottbard Kuebl . Man Reading The American Restaurant at the World's Fair in Paris, 1867 .... The Spinners The Cobbler's Shop The Court-yard The Girl from Laren The Parrot-keeper . The Polo-players Portrait of Himself In the Dunes The Chestnut-tree . Portrait of Himself The Conqueror Danish Landscape . The Augustus Bridge in Dresden .... 191 195 201 205 209 213 217 221 225 229 235 239 245 251 257 [vi] THE DUSSELDORF SCHOOL PACK Andreas Achenbach . . Dutch Harbor 263 Oswald Achenbach . . In the Chigi Park near Florence 269 Palazzo Sant' Anna near Naples 273 Ludwig Knaus .... The Swineherd .... 279 Eduard von Gebhardt . . Adoration 285 Gustav Schonleber . . . Old Houses in Cologne . . 291 C'olmar 295 THE AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN SCHOOL Hans Makart .... Bathers Surprised . . . .301 August von Pettenkofen . Sunrise 307 Carriage with Donkeys in a Hungarian Pumpkin-field . 311 Michael von Munkacsy . . Hungarian Peasant . . . 317 Gypsies in the Forest . . .321 The Prisoner 325 THE SWISS SCHOOL Ferdinand Hodler Lake Thun Lake Geneva The Wandering J exv 331 335 339 [villi ANSELM FEUERBACH [1829-1880] Axselm Feuerbach was the first modern German painter of no- bility and grandeur. He studied in Paris under Couture, whose influence is clearly shown in the artist's Portrait of Himself in this collection, painted in 1853. In Italy he acquired an indi- vidual note which one might designate as "Germanic Roman- esque." His large compositions have overcome the academic influence, which is replaced by a vital conception of the subject. The lines storm and surge in a wonderful rhythm, the space is poetically sensed, everything is alive and vibrates, and over the whole canvas is spread a harmony of color which, in spite of a tender reserve, is of a refreshing warmth and veracity. The number of magnificent portraits of Nanna, his beautiful Roman model, his pictures of the life of Dante and Petrarch, his Medea (Pinakothek, Munich), his Battle of the Amazons (Nuremberg Museum), The Fall of the Titans (Vienna Academy of Art), his Portraits of Himself, and, last but not least, the deeply felt Portrait of my Stepmother (Berlin) — to mention only a few of his important works — show him to be a master truly grand in style. His contemporaries denied him recognition, but posterity has crowned the artist whose entire life was spent in struggle and in sorrow. Feuerbach shared the lot of almost every genius : the mockery of his contemporaries, the glory of posterity — that glory which is now assured to him for all time. [1 1 PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF BY ANSELM FEUERBACH CO ANSELM FEUERBACH Portrait of Himself Painted 1853 Height : 181/4 inches Width : 141/ 2 inches Oil on canvas Recorded in "A. Feuerbach," by Allgeyer Neumann. Recorded and reproduced in "Feuerbach," by Uhde-Bernays (Clas- sics of Art, Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). HO HANS VON MAREES [1837-1887] Marees might be termed a German Puvis de Chavannes, but with a larger vision and an endeavor toward a decorative art of almost Michelangelesque power. The pictures painted during his 3 r outh show that he was an artist of enormous capacity. His works of those years recall the quality of the old masters, par- ticularly of Velasquez, although one cannot call him an imitator. Later he confined himself to the painting of simple serene figures, naked youths walking in orange groves, nude groups in shadowy forests. He had a new and peculiar style in view, and, guided by his feeling for great dominating horizontal and vertical lines, he desired to reach the original source of beauty by returning to that primitive element which is typical of each subject. Marees had the one opportunity of his lifetime to decorate walls when he painted the magnificent frescoes in the German Zoologi- cal Institute at Naples. Then no more orders came, and he was forced to limit his work to mere designs for imaginary buildings, and such a curtailment of power must eventually confuse even the noblest and clearest spirit. Germany gave Marees no chance and thus lost one of her greatest decorative geniuses. The few works of Marees which are preserved, whether executed in paint or mere drawings, remain worthy of the highest admira- tion. The Evening Forest-scene, in this collection, is laid in mytho- logical times, and probably represents the hero just before his departure to battle. His armor is ready, his horse is waiting. The nudity of the hero, which has been objected to in this pic- ture, is of greatest importance, for it introduces into the painting that deep ethical element which lifts it above time and space into a mythical sphere where the nude is far from sensuous appeal. The blending of colors creates a sonorous harmony which makes the picture look like an old tapestry. n 7 3 EVENING EOREST-SCENE BY HANS VON MAREES 191 HANS VON MAREES Evening' Forest-scene Painted 1870 Height: 24 ; )4 inches Width : 20 inches Oil on canvas pasted on pasteboard Recorded and reproduced in "Hans von Marees," by Meier-Graefe (Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers). Recorded and reproduced in the "Catalogue of the Century Exhibi- tion, National Gallery, Berlin, 1Q06." cio: ■■1 1 r J - - . / , i . ' ■'• i •$, *■ \ ... ..-.■■ ■Hi fCir . JPV ' \ I ^ : s MAX KLINGER [Born in 1857] Klinger is one of the most titanic figures in the modern history of art. A sculptor of great power, an etcher of highest orig- inality, a painter of strongest individuality, he wrestles with the profound problems of the human soul; he is the philosopher among the artists, he has created for himself an independent philosophy which throws a bridge from the beauty and great- ness of the classic world to the most powerful achievements of modern times. The veiled mysteries of the cosmos, the secret vibrations of the human soul, the mightiest problems of religion hold an intense interest for him. He wanders, with utter disre- gard for temporary styles, on solitary heights, and each new work which he creates signifies a new problem. His series of etchings, A Life, Eve and the Future, Death, Brahms Phan- tasies, To Beauty, are unique revelations of a striking mental and artistic power. His most prominent works of sculpture are Amphitrite, Salome, Cassandra, Nietzsche, Liszt, the Brahms Monument in Hamburg, and, above all, his Beethoven (for which the citizens of Leipzig have built a temple within the museum). All of these produce an effect which words are incapable of ex- pressing. They are gigantic symbols of overwhelming ideas and emotions. Klinger studied under Gussow in Karlsruhe. Later he found inspiration in Berlin, while in Paris pleinairism and the art of Besnard influenced him. In Rome he became familiar with Bocklin and Marees, but none of these painters left a lasting impression. His most important paintings are The Highwaymen, Summer Happiness, The Blue Hour, Pieta, Crucifixion, The Judgment of Paris, Christ on Olympus, Homer, etc. ; they are the works of an artist whom one should not endeavor to interpret by the standards of any predecessor, for whom it is necessary to find new valuations. The Heroic Landscape in this collection be- longs to a period when Klinger was occupied with the problems of plcinair painting, and is a study for the decoration of the walls of a villa near Berlin. Lis: ■ HEROIC LANDSCAPE BY MAX KLINGER C15J MAX KLINGER Heroic Landscape Painted 1885 Height: 20 i/ a inches Width: 18y 2 inches Signed "M. K. 85" Oil on panel Recorded and reproduced in "Cicerone/' Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. VIII, Nos. 11, 12. Article by Frank Washburn-Freund. [16] WILHELM LEIBL [1844-1900] Wilhelm Leibl is the greatest German painter since the days of Holbein. His appearance marks the beginning of an eminent period of painting such as recurs but once in hundreds of years. This period recalls the golden age of German literature in the XVI II century which produced Lcssing, Schiller and Goethe, and the golden age of music which produced Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to mention the most important only. Leibl was no ruminator, no dreamer. He created works of purely pictorial quality which can stand comparison with the paintings of the greatest masters of all times. The picture, The Actor, in this collection, was painted in 1867 when Leibl was but twenty-three years old. At this time lie had never heard of Courbet, who is recalled in this work by its broad strokes and its mellowness of tone — a coincidence which proves that at that time the great revolution in art was in the air in Germany as well as in France. The first International Expo- sition at Munich, 1869, brought Courbet to the Bavarian capi- tal, and Leibl found in this artist's works everything that he felt himself worthy of striving for. He became closely attached to Courbet and followed him to Paris, where he received the highest distinction — the gold medal at the Salon. The war of 1870—71 forced him to return home. After having lived for some time in Munich he later withdrew into different Bavarian villages, where he created a large number of incomparable masterpieces. The broad "impasto" period of Leibl, characterized by heavy rich- ness of paint, as in the small Portrait of Himself in this collec- tion, was followed by a period of the minutest technique. We still find in these pictures a marvellous softness and a mellow splendor of a Holbein-like quality, but we notice a closer atten- tion to the details. lip: Leibl, whose paintings fetch enormous prices now, died in poverty, not appreciated by the public, like Feuerbach and Ma- rees, but understood and highly estimated by a circle of young artists who met him daily in a little Munich tavern ; here they listened to his instructive speeches and adopted enthusiastically his doctrines as their watchword. These painters — called the "Leibl Circle" — were Wilhelm Triibner, Charles Schuch, Hans Thoma, Louis Eysen, Johann Sperl, Theodor Alt, the Ameri- cans Frank Duveneck and William Chase, and others ; most of them have attained a place of high significance in the world of art. [20] THE ACTOR WILHELM LEIBL [21] WILHELM LEIBL The Actor Painted 1867 Height : 22 : >4 inches Width : 17 inches Signed "W. Leibl 1867" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Leibl," by Emil Waldmann. Recorded in "History of Painting," by Richard Miither (Neufeld & Henius, Berlin, publishers). Recorded in "German Painters of the XIX Century," by Richard Hamann (R. G. Teubner, Leipzig, publisher). Recorded and reproduced in "Kunst und Kiinstler," Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. XII, No. 1. "Leibl and the French," article by Emil Waldmann. [22] PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF BY WILHELM LEIBL C25] WILHELM LEIBL Portrait of Himself Painted 1875 Height : 4% inches Width : 2% inches Oil on panel This picture was for years in the possession of the American painter William M. Chase; he obtained it from Leibl during a visit he paid him in Munich in 1876. [26: JOHANN SPERL [1840-1914] Sperl will be remembered in the history of art more on account of his friendship with Leibl than for his own works. He was one of the first who grasped the great significance of Leibl, he fol- lowed him into the solitude when he became tired of Munich, he cared for him as a mother cares for her child, he attended to the household, escorted him on his walks, accompanied him to the tavern and assisted him on his hunting trips (hunting was Leibl's favorite sport) ; in short, he was always about him, he was the faithful Kurvenal of the Tristan Leibl until his friend closed his eyes forever. But this affection for his great friend did not influence Sperl's own artistic expression. An early period during which he produced inferior genre pictures was fol- lowed by a period of refreshing landscape painting of great individual charm. The two pictures of this collection give a good idea of Sperl's technique. He knew how to interpret poeti- cally the tender charm of his beloved Bavarian country. [29] BAVARIAN LANDSCAPE, UNTERSCHONDORF BY JOHANN SPERL [so JOHANN SPERL Bavarian Landscape, Unterschondorf Painted 1876 Height: 17% inches Width : 1SV> inches Signed "J. Sperl' Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Cicerone/' Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. VIII, Nos. 9, 10. Article by Frank Washburn-Freund. n^n IN THE GARDEN JOHANN SPERL 1352 JOHANN SPERL In the Garden Painted 1878 Height: 22 inches Width: 17V2 inches Signed "J. Sperl" Oil on canvas cse: LOUIS EYSEN [1843-1899] Few of Eysen's paintings arc still in existence. The picture in this collection, with its cool and tender harmony of greens, blacks and yellows, reveals the refined culture of this master. It was painted in 1873 and alread}^ touches problems that after- wards became the battle-cry of the Impressionists. If the con- trary were not known, one might believe that Eysen was inspired by Renoir. A new trace of art is noticeable throughout the works of this entire generation of painters who followed Leibl's leadership ; every one of them represents an individuality. [39: LANDSCAPE BY LOUIS EYSEN [41] LOUIS EYSEN Landscape Painted 1873 Height : 17 inches Width : 2214 inches Oil on canvas Dated "August 15 — 73" Signed on the back: "Louis Eysen pinxit quod testat Hans Thoma Karlsruhe Juli 1914" C«3 CHARLES SCHUCH [1846-1903] Schijch never made an attempt to gain recognition. Wealthy and independent as he was, necessity did not demand the sale of his pictures. Never satisfied with himself, and ever filled with an insatiable desire for perfection (as shown by his correspon- dence with his friend Hagemeistcr), he did not even exhibit his paintings and consequently remained unknown to the time of his death. The posthumous exhibition as well as the "Centenary Exhibition, 1906" in Berlin showed that this friend of Leibl and Triibner had been one of the greatest still-life painters of all times and an admirable painter of landscapes. His works are devoid of impressionistic elements ; they are composed in clear and decisive, yet very mellow tones. One admires in every Schuch picture the preciousness of texture which makes the surface of objects appear luminous; his colors gleam and glow in lucid splendor like jewels. Schuch achieves his effects by means of these colors rather than by draughtsmanship ; yet notwithstand- ing this exquisite tenderness his brush has an almost sculptural power of modelling. OH LANDSCAPE NEAR BERNRIED, BAVARIA BY CHARLES SCHUCH n47] CHARLES SCHUCH Landscape near Bernried, Bavaria Painted 1872 Height: 22 1 /. inches Width : 30% inches Signed "C. Schuch" Oil on canvas pasted on pasteboard Reproduced in "C. Schuch," by Carl Hagemeister (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). c«: APPLES BY CHARLES SCHUCH [sin CHARLES SCHUCH Apples Painted 1876 Height: 17 inches Width : 21 inches Signed "C. Schuch 1876' Oil on canvas Recorded in "Development of Modern Art," by Meier-Graefe, Vol. II, page 321 (R. Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers, 1915). [52] MILL IN PR AGS, TYROL BY CHARLES SCHUCH 1551 CHARLES SCHUCH Mill in Prags, Tyrol Painted 1877 Height: 12% inches Width : 16 1 /- inches Signed "C. Schuch" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "C. Schuch/' by Carl Hagemeister (B. Cassirer, Berlin^ publisher). [56] El LANDSCAPE NEAR FERCH CHARLES SCHUCH 1*91 CHARLES SCHUCH Landscape near Ferch Painted 1870 Height : 26 inches Width : 35 inches Signed "C. Schuch" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Kunst und Kiinstler," Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. XI (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). "Schuch in Ferch," article by Carl Hagemeister. [GO] STILL-LIFE CHARLES SCHUCH [63] CHARLES SCHUCH Still-life Painted 1887 Height : 28 inches Width :21V> inches Signed "C. Schuch" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "C. Schuch/' by Hagemeister (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). Co'*] WILHELM TRUBNER [Born 1851] The royal robe of Leibl fell upon the shoulders of Wilhelm Trubner. He was Leibl's friend and pupil, he admired him and was inspired by him without losing his own personality. He has remained a master of independent individuality from the time of his unexampled precocity up to the present day. Musical prodigies are often heard of, but prodigies in paint- ing are hardly known in our times. Trubner was such a prod- igy. From his nineteenth year he started to create a large number of works of an old-masterly maturity and of a perfect pictorial conception such as only artists in the prime of their lives are capable of achieving. During his trips to Holland and Belgium he studied the old masters ; in 1869 he became familiar with the works of Manet and Courbet; he was stimulated by these various impressions, but he did not lose his personal note. Between 1871 and 1878 he created a number of masterpieces of wonderful quality which the world, with its usual attitude to- wards works of genius, declined. One of the first landscapes of Trubner, Beech-trees near Bernried, belonging to this collection, established the friendship between Leibl and the striving youth. Leibl praised this splen- did study highly. The famous Nun and the well-known Guar- dian were painted in 1872-73, while the Portrait of Himself, with its dash and vigor reminiscent of Courbet, was done in 1877. The young master, very unhappy over the lack of recogni- tion, then began to paint pictures of an anecdotal, mythological and fantastic character in order to appeal to the large public ; his painting nevertheless remained of high artistic quality. The period of French impressionism which soon followed had some influence on Trubner; the dark tones, the melodious soft- ness of his compositions yielded to a lighter palette, the mellow- ness remained, but the scale became higher and the stroke of the brush more energetic, more "impasto" and more elementary. The two landscapes of Castle Hemsbach (1904-05) and the one of Lake Starnberg (1907) give a clear illustration of Triib- ner's present technique and style. [67: BEECH-TREES NEAR BERXRIED, BAVARIA BY WILHELM TRUBXER tm WILHELM TRUBNER Beech-trees near Bernried, Bavaria Painted 1871 Height: 13 inches Width : 18 inches Signed "W. Triibner 8. 1871" Oil on canva C703 THE WOMAN WITH RADISHES WILHELM TRUBNER [70a] WILHELM TRUBNER The Woman with Radishes Painted 1872 Height : 22 inches Width : 17 inches Signed "W. Triibner 2. 1872" Oil on canvas [70b;] THE NUN WILHELM TRUBNER [73] WILHELM TRUBNER The Nun Painted 1872 Height : 19 1 /. inches Width: 15Vo inches Signed "W. Trubner 1872" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Kunst und Kunstler," Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. XI (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). "W. Triib- ner," article by Lovis Corinth. Reproduced in the same magazine, Vol. XIII. "German Masters," article bv Karl Scheffler. [74] THE GUARDIAN WILHELM TRUBNER [77] WILHELM TRUBNER The Guardian Painted 1873 Height: 191/2 inches Signed "W. Triibner, Width : 18 inches Miinchen" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "W. Triibner," by Geoi-g Fuchs (Georg Miiller, Munich, publisher). C78] PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF WILHELM TRUBNER [81] WILHELM TRUBNER Portrait of Himself Painted 1877 Height : 2,&y 2 inches Width: 19% inches Signed "Wilhehn Triibner Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Kunst und Kiinstler," Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. IX (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). [82] CASTLE HEMSBACH (1904) WILHELM TRUBNER [85] WILHELM TRUBNER Castle Hemsbach Painted 1904 Height : 35 ; >4 inches Width : 30 inches Signed "W. Triibner" Oil on canvas Recorded in "History of Painting," by Muther (Xeufeld & Henius, Berlin, publishers). [86] ■ «■ & ft ~w | Jfri ; ■ >* ^ V WJ0 ; 1 ?;, |l ^f* ji'f <^ t jjji^r Apf I ' € ^ * r^ 4 f W' ■ X 1 ! ';# ' ' . , r fc ' ' ^pf* 1 •$ V : "■-'■ 1 4 J :■•'• it.'- i /'V •: J .;« i • ! . J ■>l ; f If • v i "V, JK 3 if- - , *v . v • . ■ : CASTLE HEMSBACH (1905) WILHELM TRUBNER 1891 WILHELM TRUBNER Castle Hemsbach Painted 1905 Height : 301/4 inches Width: 85 V» inches Signed "W. Trubner" Oil on canvas Recorded in "History of Painting," by Muther (Nenfeld & Henius, Berlin, publishers). C90] VIEW ON LAKE STARNBERG WILHELM TRUBNER 193-2 WILHELM TRUBNER View on Lake Starnberg Painted 1907 Height: 15% inches Width : 2414 inches Signed "W. Triibner' Oil on canvas [94] THEODOR ALT [Born 1846] The fate of Theodor Alt is a tragic one. He had joined the "Leibl Circle" with great enthusiasm and begun his career with exquisite paintings of finest pictorial charm when disease para- lyzed his strength for work. To this day he has not been able to take the brush into his hand again. Of the very small number of works painted by him two belong to this collection. Uhde- Bernays in his essay on the painter ("Cicerone," Annual Set XI) has pronounced The Bonding-alley in this collection the best of Alt's creations. [97] THE BOWLING-ALLEY BY THEODOR ALT [99] THEODOR ALT The Bowling-alley Painted 1873 Height : 223/4 inches Width : 38 inches Signed "Th. Alt" Oil on canvas Reproduced and recorded in "Cicerone/' Monthly Art Magazine, Vol. V, No. 3. "Theodor Alt," article by Uhde-Bernays. Recorded in "Development of Modern Art," by Meier-Graefe, Vol. II, pages 310-328 (R. Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers, 1915). [100] PEASANT HOUSES BY THEODOR ALT Dos: THEODOR ALT Peasant Houses Painted 1873 Height: 7^ inches Width: 1214 inches Signed "Th. Alt" Oil on canvas D01] HANS THOMA [Born 1839] The significance of Thoma lies chiefly in the works which he produced from the beginning of the 'seventies to the middle of the 'eighties. In that time he helped to open a hitherto unknown field to German art — simplicity and a true perception of nature. Like Leibl, he found his ideal in Courbet, whom he enthusi- astically heralded in Germany. An artist may receive stimu- lation from others as long as he assimilates what he sees and infuses this inspiration harmoniously into his own individual conceptions. The modern French painters, above all Manet, owe a great deal to the stimulative power of Velasquez, Goya, Greco and the Japanese. Thoma began with portraits, land- scapes and figure works which insure him a lasting place in the history of art : they are full of a tender mood, show a great intimacy of perception and are of the highest technical quality. Later he lost poise ; he began to place the poetic subject above the painter's technique ; he became fascinated by themes similar to those of Bocklin. He wasted his powers on biblical topics for which he lacked vigor; he diffused his talent in the painting of allegories and fabulous creatures like sea monsters, nixies, fauns, etc. ; only rarely did he wrest a painting from this second period of his life that recalled the creator of the beautiful Avorks of his youth. [107] ORANGE GROVE IN SORRENTO HANS THOMA [109] HANS THOMA Orange Grove in Sorrento Painted ] 880 Height: 21.1/4 inches Signed "Hans Thoma Width: 141/4 inches Sorrento 1880" Oil on pasteboard [no] SUMMER NIGHT HANS THOMA [us: HANS THOMA Summer Night Painted 1882 Height: 17 inches Width : 13 inches Signed "H. Th. 1882" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Hans Thoma" ("Classics of Art/' Deutsche Ver- lagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). Reproduced in colors in "Colored Prints," edited by the "Jugend," No. 2691 (Georg Hirth, Munich, publisher). Di-O /< • ftSLy : a WILHELM VON LINDENSCHMIT [1829-1895] Wilhelm von Lindenschmit will live in the history of art as one of the successful teachers (Munich Academy). An entire generation of painters studied under him. His pictures of the life of Luther and Ulrich von Hutten will also help to keep his name from being forgotten. These paintings, although not created by a man of genius, show the high artistic culture of Munich at that time and also demonstrate the effect which devoted observation and earnest study of the old masters may produce upon a less gifted personality. CH7] LUTHER AND THE REFORMERS AT MARBURG WILHELM VON LINDENSCHMIT C"93 WILHELM VON LINDENSCHMIT Luther and the Reformers at Marburg Painted 1873 Height: 55 ^ inches Width: 69 inches Oil on canvas Recorded in "History of Munich Art in the XIX Century," hy Pecht. Recorded in "Works of Painters/' by Boetticher. Recorded in "The Art of the XIX Century," by Liibke-Haack (P. Xeff, Esslingen, publisher). [120: KARL SPITZWEG [1808-1885] The "little genre-painter" was hardly noted during his life- time; he sold for a trifling sum one small picture after another and was happy and contented in his modest Munich garret. He died in 1885. The "Centenary Exhibition in Berlin in 1906," where a whole room was reserved for his paintings, marked the beginning of Spitzweg's glorious resurrection from oblivion. Foreign countries quite justly take a critical attitude toward German genre-painting; Spitzweg, its forerunner and classic exponent, must not be confounded with his mediocre followers. He deserves an exceptional place in art because in his idyls, full of charm and humor, he always preserves distinction and poetry. Influenced by the old Dutch, he also knew how to use the im- pressions received from the School of Fontainebleau and from other French masters. He developed, from an originally minutely detailed technique, a broad free stroke of an enchant- ing quality with a keen sense for colors which makes his pictures shine and glitter like precious stones. He is equally charming whether he portrays an Alpine pasture or a small country town ; whether he tells of olden times or merry comedians ; of moonlight magic, picnics, children or old people ; of the Victorian period or of bands of gypsies. Hundreds of themes which he treated could be enumerated. Nobody minds his being a narrator as his themes do not interfere with the artistic quality of his work. Spitzweg is the only one of all genre-painters who deserves international fame. The picture in this collection, The Letter- carrier, shows his preference for mediaeval towns with many wind- ing streets and crooked turnings ; he found fitting scenes for these studies in Munich, in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and in many Tyrolian market-towns. [i2s: THE LETTER-CARRIER BY KARL SPITZWEG [125] KARL SPITZWEG The Letter-carrier Painted 1870 Height : 22% inches Width: 17 inches Oil on paper pasted on canvas Reproduced in "Karl Spitzweg/' by Uhde-Bernays (Delphin Edi- tion, Munich, 1914). £1261] FRITZ VON UHDE [1848-1911] Liebermann was the first German artist who brought open-air painting to Germany. On a trip to Zandvoort in Holland he disclosed to Uhde the wonders of painting out of doors and found in him an enthusiastic follower. Uhde, who had been a pupil of so great a master as Michael von Munkacsy, became the con- vinced propagandist of the new doctrine. His first picture in- spired by the modern idea was Drum Practice, now in the Dres- den Museum ; it aroused keen opposition which increased to a storm of indignation when Uhde began to paint that long series of religious and highly poetical pictures which show the Saviour as a pilgrim mingling with the poor of our time, and which deal with such themes as Suffer little Children to come unto me, Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest, The Prayer at Table, The Last Sup- per, The Sermon on the Mount, Holy Night, Departure for Bethlehem, and similar subjects. These religious themes are ex- pressed in a democratic manner with the most modern methods of painting. The public has now become accustomed to these pictures, they arc not felt to be as revolutionary as formerly. They possess a heartfelt simplicity and above all such a splendid artistic quality that The Prayer at Table, now in the Musee du Luxembourg in Paris, has often been imitated by French paint- ers, for example by Lhcrmitte in the large canvas now in the possession of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Uhde was one of the courageous leaders during the years of struggle for open-air painting. Besides his religious subjects he has interpreted with fine atmospheric quality the beauty of a snowy landscape, of a forest, of a garden. The numerous pic- tures of his daughters, whom he never tired of painting, rank amongst the most admirable creations of this great artist ; two of these paintings belong to this collection. [129] THE PICTURE-BOOK FRITZ VON UHDE [ISl] FRITZ VON UHDE The Picture-book Painted 1889 Height : %&% inches Width: 19^ inches Signed "F. Uhde" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Uhde" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). [132] IN THE GARDEN BY FRITZ VON UHDE pss: FRITZ VON UHDE In the Garden Painted 1903 Height : 29Vi> inches Width: 35 Vo inches Signed "F. Uhde" Oil on canvas Reproduced and recorded in "Uhde" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). [ise: HUGO VON HABERMANN [Born 1849] Hugo von Habermann is one of the most original of German artists. After studying under Piloty, he began to work in the style of the old masters. His pictures of this early period are remarkable for their rare taste and vivid conception of color. We notice also a broad and free stroke of the brush new to the school of Piloty. The interior painting of the Piloty Studio, which belongs to this collection, gives an example of these quali- ties. After a short period of painting in the style of Delacroix, Habermann finally found a style of his own ; his palette became brighter, and he created that large series of women's portraits which made him famous. The models he picked out are far from being beautiful; it would appear that Habermann wished to prove the paradox that even ugliness contains a hidden beauty. His landscapes are equally individual in conception and tech- nique; all his pictures show the serpentine stroke of the brush which gives his works a peculiar distinction. iml PILOTY'S STUDIO HUGO VON HABERMANN [1*1] HUGO VON HABERMANN Piloty's Studio Painted 1876 Height : 9,0/^ inches Width : 19% inches Signed "1876 Habermann" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "Habermann," by Fritz von Ostini (Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers). D42U DRESSING FOR A DANCE BY HUGO VON HABERMANN C145] HUGO VON HABERMANN Dressing" for a Dance Painted 1911 Height : 52 inches Width : 32 Vo inches Signed "1911 Habermann" Oil on canvas Recorded in "Habermann," by Fritz von Ostini (Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers). ni46] CASTLE UNSLEBEN BY HUGO VON HABERMANN [149] HUGO VON HABERMANN Castle Unsleben Painted 1911 Height: 37 ^ inches Width: 21% inches Signed "Habermann 11 Oil on canvas ciso: > ^ » ■ ft £ • -2 ^1 ' % f J JHh " # ^ \ f / V " : ^^^!)S^K ML \ ,,*£ l#^' ^ 1 mk t-* m V i \ 1 V ^^*Hr^as \t*.. ^H 1 1 W^/ : * ■ •■ •#^ • -*" r " * 1 11 '1 »^1 f.* ,* "** 1 : ia# - _«j ■ III 1 IH ] IP 4 f* ft — «4 .■-- .;-, 4| ■MM ^.. ALBERT VON KELLER [Born 1854] Albert von Keller is the painter of '"high life" ; he feels at home in aristocratic circles. His pictures representing society events belong to his most typical works, his brush interprets the atmosphere of the drawing-room with splendid skill. His por- traits of ladies of the nobilit} 7 are of distinguished refinement, particularly the portraits of his wife; one of them belongs to this collection. He has also treated religious themes (Awaken- ing of J aims' Daughter, Pinakothek, Munich) with ability and has portrayed with fine sensitiveness such subjects as the dancer Madeleine who aroused a big sensation some years ago with her "hypnotic dances" in Europe. The few landscapes painted! during the first period of his career excel in their poetic con- ception and exquisite delicacy. The Rococo Park in this collec- tion rivals the best works of the masters of Fontainebleau. D53H ROCOCO PARK BY ALBERT VON KELLER D55] ALBERT VON KELLER Rococo Park Painted 1873 Height : 23 inches Width:- 17% inches Signed "A. Keller 1873' Oil on canvas £1561 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST'S WIFE ALBERT VON KELLER [159] ALBERT VON KELLER Portrait of the Artist's Wife Painted 1880 Height. : 20% inches Width : 1714 inches Signed "A. Keller 1880" Oil on canvas [160;] IN THE GARDEN OF THE VILLA WOLKONSKI IN ROME ALBERT VON KELLER C16SJ ■■■■^■^H ■■ sa^ ■■■I ALBERT VON KELLER In the Garden of the Villa Wolkonski in Rome Painted 1885 Height: 11 inches Width: 19% inches Oil on canvas Recorded in "A. von Keller," by Hans Rosenhagen (Velhagen & Klasing, Leipzig, publishers). [164] FRANZ VON STUCK [Born 1863] Among the painters of German origin Franz von Stuck is one of the best known in America, possibly on account of the many reproductions of his works in black and white. Stuck began his work consciously inspired by Bocklin, whose fauns, centaurs, nixies and other fairy-folk fascinated him. In spite of this influ- ence he was able to preserve a certain originality and he discov- ered harmonies of color which helped him to form a style of his own. Besides being a striking colorist he has created works of a monumental type which have assured him a place among the eminent artists of our time. The canvas Carmen in this collec- tion represents Stuck both as painter of a monumental style and as a distinguished colorist. WH CARMEN BY FRANZ VON STUCK imi FRANZ VON STUCK Carmen Painted 1902 Height: 43% inches Signed "Franz Stuck 1902 Width: 87% inches Carmen" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Franz Stuck," by Ostini (Hanfstaengl, Munich, publisher). [170] ■■ TONI STADLER [Born 1850] Stadler did not grapple with world-stirring themes ; he is not one of the great spirits whose art arouses intense discussion ; he has a noble soul which conceives Nature with loving fervor and in a highly individual manner. A landscape by Stadler shows in every exhibition a strong contrast to the surrounding canvases. He is particularly fortunate in depicting distances ; his far per- spectives, especially those of the Bavarian highlands, enchant by the masterly presentation of sky and earth, of nearness and of distance, and through the innumerable shades of color Avhich his palette commands. D73: BAVARIAN LANDSCAPE BY TONI STADLER [175] TONI STADLER Bavarian Landscape Painted 1912 Height: 19% inches Width : 26y± inches Signed "T. Stadler 1912" Oil on canvas [176] HEINRICH VON ZUGEL [Born 1850] Heinbich von Zugel is one of the greatest animal painters of our time. He began his career with pictures of exquisite soft- ness and tenderness of tone. This quality is especially shown by his sheep, the fleece of the animals being painted in mellow shades. An example of this early period of his art — reminiscent of Jacque but of still finer quality — is the picture The Sheep- farm of this collection. Later Ziigel began to paint in brighter tones and in a broader technique, as for instance in the picture Shepherd and Flock. To-day he is far from his original mode of work. He models his oxen with great vigor in thick, rich layers of paint with intense sunlight falling upon their mighty backs. For the tender quality of his early pictures he has sub- stituted a broad stroke and brilliant sunlight effects similar to those of Sorolla. He is now a great virtuoso of the brush, much to the regret of the admirers of the wonderful art of his youthful period. cits: THE SHEEP-FARM (WOLKENHOF) HEINRICH VON ZUGEL C1813 HEINRICH VON ZUGEL The Sheep-farm ( Wolkenhof) Painted 1871 Height : 26 : >4 inches Width: 18*4 inches Signed "H. Ziigel, Miinchen" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "H. Ziigel," by Georg Biermann (Velhagen & Klasing, Leipzig, publishers). [182] SHEPHERD AND FLOCK HEINRICH VON ZUGEL D85 3 HEINRICH VON ZUGEL Shepherd and Flock Painted 1883 Height: 19 inches Width : 22 inches Signed "H. Ziigel" Oil on canvas [186] ADOLPH VON MENZEL [1815-1905] It is well-nigh impossible to characterize by a few words a gigan- tic artistic personality like Menzel, the more so as his work shows a marked inequality. We are indebted to him for works such as only geniuses are capable of creating, but we cannot overlook those others which show merely mechanical merits. Menzel, born in Breslau, began his career as a lithographer. In 1830 he went to Berlin and attracted general attention when, after an extensive study of the period of Frederick the Great, he produced the woodcuts that illustrated Kugler's history of the Prussian king. These woodcuts surpassed in draughtsman- ship and power of conception anything that had been accom- plished in the art of illustration in modern times. Menzel's talent as a draughtsman is unsurpassed in the history of art. His pencil was ever with him, he held it in his hand until death relaxed his grasp. During the 'forties Menzel produced several oil paintings suggested by his every-day surroundings, such as The Balcony, Yard with Willows, Potsdam Railway, etc. In these works he already seized and evolved problems of technique — particularly in The Balcony, which occupied the French artists many years later and which afterwards became the watch- word of the "New Art." It can hardly be imagined to what height Menzel might have led German art at that time if he had recognized the enormous artistic value of these works. But he considered them only as "little studies" and became interested in historical painting, a victim of the taste of his time. He created a large number of pictures representing the life of Frederick the Great, which possess wonderful qualities of detail, charming effects of light and color, but whose emphasis lies more in the subject than in the painting itself. Although the historical exactness and the imagination displayed in these pictures are as remarkable as their composition, we are from an artistic point of view unable to understand to-day the boundless admiration which they aroused when they appeared. [189] In another series of pictures which he painted much later (incidents in the life of Emperor Wilhelm I) he lost himself in the same way in too much detail by his effort to portray every group with microscopic exactness. The charge of too much detail and of a lack of definite composition must also be brought against his paintings of street scenes, promenades, processions, even against the powerful presentation of labor in his painting The Foundry. Two trips to Paris had a marvellous influence on Menzel's art : once more he produced works of exquisite perfection. In 1855 Menzel witnessed a performance at the Theatre Gymnase. The impressionistic picture of this experience which he painted from memory is one of the most splendid examples of modern art and alone would suffice to make the name of Menzel immortal. This picture and The Balcony, the most beautiful work of the young Menzel, are the pride of the Berlin National Gallery. The second trip to Paris in 1867 was again a real inspiration for Menzel. Meier-Graefe says in his very critical and ingenious book, "The Young Menzel": "This journey inflated the slack- ening sails of his art like a fresh breeze and he painted his best pictures of the 'sixties from the Parisian motives, where the ever-changing festive throng fascinated him. . . ." One of the two important pictures painted in 1867, The American Res- taurant at the World's Fair in Paris, belongs to this collection. The impression is rendered in the most modern manner, every detail is subordinated to the concentrated effect of the whole ; the mass of people appears to the spectator as a harmonious ensemble. The marvellous drawings and water-colors, the splendid gouaches and lithographs, the admirable woodcuts, fine etchings, etc., which Menzel produced during his long life, are innumerable — the spacious National Galler} r in Berlin proved to be too small for the Menzel Memorial Exhibition in 1905. Tribute was paid not only to the genius but also to the rest- less energy of this painter who during his lifetime had honors showered upon him like no other artist of our days. [190] MAN READING ADOLPH VON MENZEL D91] ADOLPH VON MENZEL Man Reading Painted 1850 Height : 10% inches Width : 81/4 inches Signed "Erinnerung A. M. Gouache Recorded and reproduced in "A. von Menzel," by Tschudi (Bruck- mann Society, Munich, publishers). D92] THE AMERICAN RESTAURANT AT THE WORLD'S FAIR IN PARIS, 1867 BY ADOLPH VON MENZEL DPSIJ ADOLPH VON MENZEL The American Restaurant at the World's Fair in Paris, 1867 Painted 1867 Height: 61/> inches Width : 4!/4 inches Signed "Ad. Menzel" Oil on panel Recorded and reproduced in "A. von Menzel," hy Tschudi (Bruck- mann Society, Munich, publishers). Recorded and reproduced in "History of Art," by Springer (A. Seemann, Leipzig, publisher). Recorded and reproduced in colors in "Adolph von Menzel," by Meyerheim (Paetel, Berlin, publisher). Reproduced in colors in "The Art in Colors" (No. 2006), by See- mann, Leipzig (Farbige Kunstblatter). Recorded in "Der junge Menzel," by Meier-Graefe (Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, publishers). Recorded in "Menzel," by Scheffler (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). [196] MAX LIEBERMANN [Born 1847 in Berlin] Max Liebermann is to Germany what Edouard Manet is to France. Like Manet, he liberated painting from the dark tones of the old masters and took it out of the dimness of the studios into the freedom of light and air, to pleinairism and impression- ism. At the beginning of his career Liebermann painted like all of his contemporaries in the manner of the old school ; he was under the influence of Munkacsy, as is shown by his first large canvas, Women Plucking Geese. In Holland he came under the influence of Israels ; in France, the Barbizon painters and the Impressionists were to him a source of valuable suggestion and inspiration. He understood how to transfuse these impressions into his oavii works and to create something entirely individual out of the mingled elements. Liebermann is in all of his pictures primarily subjective, not from a lack of profound respect for his object but rather on account of this respect. He is spirited and full of temperament ; he possesses a refined taste and his art is of such a highly personal character that one can with a great de- gree of certainty recognize a Liebermann painting among a thou- sand others. He is always interesting as a colorist, and even in the most impressionistic of his works he shows himself a master- ful draughtsman. His art may not have the flowing grace of the French, for whom he has an intense admiration, but it has an element of splendid virility which commands high esteem. His inner fervor gives an ardent life to his works ; he possesses the highly strung nervous organization of the modern man, and sensitive impetuosity is perceptible throughout his pictures ; he grasps the moment with lightning rapidity and all his paintings are permeated with air and light. There is not a theme which he would not be able to treat in his most personal manner. The eight works of Liebermann in this collection are from different periods of his life and show his continuous development from the time when he outgrew the influence of Munkacsy. The Spinners, in spite of the warm, vibrant tone, is free from the earlier close atmosphere of the studio. Liebermann's power to represent people in activity is splendidly manifested in the four old women quietly at work in the room that shimmers with light. The Cobbler's Shop is one of his standard works. Two versions of this picture are in existence; one is in the pos- session of the Berlin National Gallery, the other belongs to this collection. The two principal biographers of Liebermann, Ernst Hancke and Karl Scheffler, prefer the painting in this collection because it is the first and was done directly after nature. It is mellow and soft in spite of the broad quality of technique. Hochede, the famous French art critic, wrote after the exhibition of The Cobbler's Shop at the Paris Salon of 1881 : "If you have found the secret of pleinair, my dear Manet, Liebermann knows how to paint light in interiors. I should gladly exchange five hundred square yards of the Paris Salon canvases for his small picture." The Court-yard, painted 1882, is striking on account of the masterly solution of the problem of space. The Girl from Laren, painted 1886, recalls the names of Millet and even of Hals. The Parrot-keeper (1902) shows a radiating brilliance of color and an astonishing impressionism. The Polo-players (1907) might recall Degas, but here, too, Liebermann transfused this picture Avith a highly personal note. Very interesting and full of individual treatment are his Dune Landscapes, of which the painting in this collection is an example (1913). It is surpris- ing how Liebermann found even in this monotonous part of Hol- land inspiration for paintings so original and of such differing character and mood. The Portrait of Himself (1911) displays Liebermann's great power and conciseness in portraiture. The fact that the mas- ter's Garden of a Restaurant was acquired for the Musec du Luxembourg in Paris is a striking proof of France's apprecia- tion of Liebermann's art. £200] THE SPINNERS BY MAX LIEBERMANN [201] MAX LIEBERMANN The Spinners Painted 1879 Height: 31^ inches Width : 35V 9 inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Liebermann" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Verlags- anstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). Recorded and reproduced in "Liebermann," by Rosenhagen (Vel- hagen & Klasing, Leipzig, publishers). [202] THE COBBLER'S SHOP BY MAX LIEBERMANN [205] MAX LIEBERMANN The Cobbler s Shop Painted 1880 Height: 8^/2 inches Width: 11V> inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on panel Recorded in the Catalogue of the Paris Salon, 1881. Recorded and reproduced in "Liebermann" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). Recorded in "Max Liebermann," by Karl Scheffler (Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers). Recorded and reproduced in "Liebermann," by Erich Hancke (B. Cassirer, Berlin, publisher). C206] THE COURT-YARD MAX LIEBERMANN [209: MAX LIEBERMANN The Court-yard Painted 1882 Height: 10 1 /) inches Width: 1414 inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on panel Recorded in "Liebermann/' by Hancke (B. Cassirer, Berlin, pub- lisher). [210] THE GIRL FROM LA REN BY MAX LIEBERMANN [213] MAX LIEBERMANN The Girl from JLaren Painted 1886 Height : 29 a /4 inches Width: 16 1 /! inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on pasteboard Recorded and reproduced in "Liebermann," by Hancke (B. Cas- sirer, Berlin, publisher). C214] THE PARROT-KEEPER BY MAX LIEBERMANN [217] MAX LIEBERMANN The Parrot-keeper Painted 1902 Height : 39^ inches Width : 9rty± in ches Signed "M. Liebermann 1902" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Liebermann" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Ver- lagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). Recorded in "History of Painting," by Muther (Neufeld & Henius, Berlin, publishers). [218] THE POLO-PLAYERS MAX LIEBERMANN 1:221 : MAX LIEBERMANN The Polo-players Painted 1907 Height: 11 inches Width: 17% inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on panel Reproduced in "Liebermann" ("Classics of Art," Deutsche Ver- lagsanstalt, Stuttgart, publishers). Recorded in "History of Painting," by Muther (Neufeld & Henius, Berlin, publishers). [222] PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF BY MAX LIEBERMANN C225H MAX LIEBERMANN Portrait of Himself Painted 1911 Height: 15 inches Width: 12 Vo inches Signed "M. Liebermann 1911" Oil on panel [226] IN THE DUNES MAX LIEBERMANN C229 3 MAX LIEBERMANN In the Dunes Painted 1913 Height: 27% inches Width : 39y 2 inches Signed "M. Liebermann" Oil on canvas [230] MAX SLEVOGT [Born 1868] Slevogt is usually regarded as belonging to the modern Berlin School of painters, although he is a Bavarian by birth and re- ceived his education in Munich. Notwithstanding this fact he not only lives in the capital, but the character of his work places him in the "Menzel-Liebermann class." His great talent as an illustrator recalls Menzel, although his paths are different from those of the older master. Slevogt's illustrations are unique ; they are an ingenious transposition of impressionism to book illustration. As a painter his relationship to Liebermann is similar to Renoir's to Manet ; one may include him in the circle of the master without calling him an imitator. Slevogt is an artist of strong individuality and of an impulsive temperament. The garden view entitled The Chestnut-tree gives an idea of his impressionistic manner of portraying nature, and his picture of himself shows him as a portrait painter of eminence. He has already created many important works, but as he is still quite young, and as each creation of his marks an advance, high ex- pectations arc connected with the name of Slevogt: he is not only a valuable possession — he is a great promise for the develop- ment of art. [233] THE CHESTNUT-TREE MAX SLEVOGT £235: MAX SLEVOGT The Chestnut-tree Painted 1903 Height: 19 : )4 inches Width : 23Vo inches Signed "M. Slevogt" Oil on canvas Reproduced in "Die Kunst," 1906 (Bruckmann, Munich, publisher). "M. Slevogt," article by Rosenhagen. [236] - PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF MAX SLEVOGT [239] MAX SLEVOGT Portrait of Himself Painted 1915 Height: 18 inches Width : 1434 inches Signed "Slevogt 1915" Oil on canvas [240] LOVIS CORINTH [Born 1858] One has to go back to Rubens in order to find a painter who might be called a precursor of Corinth ; nobody since the great Fleming's time has portrayed overflowing and exuberant strength to such a degree as this artist. He delights in paint- ing the nude body of man and woman ; his figures pulsate with vitality, he interprets the flesh with an unequalled virtuosity ; sometimes, however, he approaches the sensual and brutal to an extent offensive to refined taste. He has a vivid imagination and a wide range or repertoire. He portrays religious and classic themes, impressionistic and pleinair studies, paints por- traits, landscapes and still-life, both imaginary and realistic subjects. His peculiar Portraits of Himself form a special chapter among his manifold creations. The most famous of these, which shows him with his wife and is called The Con- queror, belongs to this collection. Prof. Dr. Biermann, Corinth's biographer, considers this painting a climax in the work of the artist. [243] THE CONQUEROR (Portrait of the Artist and his Wife) BY LOVIS CORINTH C245 3 LOVIS CORINTH The Conqueror (Portrait of the Artist and his Wife) Painted 1910 Height : 53.^4 inches Width: 4314 inches Signed "Lovis Corinth 1910" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in colors in "Corinth/' by G. Biermann (Velhagen & Klasing, Leipzig, publishers). [246: WALTER LEISTIKOW [1865-1908] A sympathetic painter without any element of storm and stress is Walter Leistikow, an artist with a clear eye and a practised hand, an original personality within a somewhat limited field. Leistikow attracted public attention at first by his charming views of the vicinity of Berlin, which revealed beauties of this sandy country heretofore unknown. He showed that a Grune- wald Lake at sunset, with the trunks of the surrounding pine- trees glowing like flames, may inspire as enchanting a picture as the most romantic Alpine landscape. Later he expanded his field of activity by seeking motives in Scandinavia. Denmark, with the placid serenity of its small lakes, attracted his special inter- est, and here he created pictures of a strong personal note. The painting in this collection is the result of one of his excursions to Denmark. Leistikow reached the age of only forty-three years. His untimely death destroyed the great hope that had been felt in his further development. [249] DANISH LANDSCAPE WALTER LEISTIKOW [251] WALTER LEISTIKOW Danish Landscape Painted 1899 Height: 29 ^ inches Width : 39 y 2 inches Signed "W. Leistikow" Oil on canvas C252] GOTTHARD KUEHL [1850-1915] Kuehl belonged to the most modern school of the 'eighties, at the time when the struggle over the new art was at its most in- tense stage. After serious studies in Munich and Paris he was called to the Dresden Academy, where he was active until his death. Kuehl always remained an enthusiastic prophet of the doctrine of "light and air," and he showed himself to be a colorist of especially fine feeling. His paintings are distin- guished by a bright color quality and a noble and harmonious effect. His city views represent the height of his rich creations ; it was particularly the baroque beauty of Dresden that inspired him to many exquisite paintings. C255] THE AUGUSTUS BRIDGE IN DRESDEN GOTTHARD KUEHL [257] GOTTHARD KUEHL The Augustus Bridge in Dresden Painted 1906 Height: 14*1/) inches Signed "Gotthard Kuehl Width : 18% inches 2 1. 06" Oil, gouache and pastel on pasteboard £258] ANDREAS ACHENBACH [1815-1910] Andreas Achenbach is a name familiar to Americans, for many of his pictures were brought to this country at the time of his early fame. He learned his craft at Diisseldorf and thoroughly studied the old masters of the XVII century in Hol- land, but did not become their imitator. He looked at the world in his own way, displaying a great preference for effective and dramatic scenes in nature. Although no ingenious con- queror of new artistic fields, he had in his way a beneficent in- fluence upon the rising generation of German painters because of his solid technique, his reverence for nature and his refusal to interpret with his brush things which do not belong to the domain of pure art. The history of art will give him high credit for producing real landscapes at a time when other painters flooded their studios with anecdotes and stories. The painting in this collection unfortunately does not rank among the repre- sentative creations of the artist ; it was painted when Achenbach was no longer in full command of his powers. [261] DUTCH HARBOR ANDREAS ACHENBACH 1263^ ANDREAS ACHENBACH Dutch Harbor Painted 1881 Height: 12 l /o inches Width: 17% inches Signed "A. Achenbach 81" Oil on panel [264] OSWALD ACHENBACH [1827-1905] Oswald Achenbach, the brother of Andreas Achenbach, had a preference for Italy ; he mostly depicted scenes laid in his favor- ite country. Bjr his superior technique and strong imagination he produced vital works of lasting charm. The picture in this collection, Women Gathering Brushwood, is full of freshness reminiscent of the best French artists, while the Gulf of Naples shows the excellent instruction, the strong sense of color and the taste in composition of the artist. At the time of the intense struggle over the values of modern art in Germany, the original overestimation of the two Achenbachs was followed by a sharp depreciation; however, a new and just esteem for the great talent of these two brothers has begun to make up for the former injustice. [267: IN THE CHIGI PARK NEAR FLORENCE BY OSWALD ACHENBACH [269: OSWALD ACHENBACH In the Chigi Park near Florence Painted 1854 Height: l^i/o inches Width: 2134 inches Signed "Oswald Achenbach" Oil on canvas Recorded in the "Cyclopaedia of Paintings" (Scribners, New York, publishers). [270] PALAZZO SANT'ANNA NEAR NAPLES OSWALD ACHENBACH C273: OSWALD ACHENBACH Palazzo Sanf Anna near Naples Painted 1876 Height: 39 V2 inches Width : 47V9 inches Signed "Oswald Achenbach" Oil on canvas [274] LUDWIG KNAUS [1829-1910] There was a time when the name of Knaus was familiar to everyone, when a world-wide fame enabled him to obtain un- heard-of prices for his pictures, when each new painting of his was impatiently awaited like the new novel of a fashionable writer of fiction. As a matter of fact, it was not the quality of the paintings, but their contents, that made these pictures popular. Knaus had the charming talent of a narrator, and at a time when art had gone astray, when it had been forgotten that the primary value of a painting is its artistic quality and not its narrative elements, it was easy for this clever story-teller to be successful, particularly as he thoroughly understood the techni- cal part of his art and showed a certain elegance as a colorist. But Knaus emphasized the story of his pictures to obtrusive- ness, he overcrowded them with infinite detail, thus exaggerating the manner of Gerome and Meissonier, who were at that time painting in France. To-day most of these paintings impress us as flat and anti- quated; we dislike them because of their sentimental sweetness, as, for instance, the Madonna and the Rag Baby in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which appear to the con- noisseurs like cheap porcelain-paintings. Knaus is partly re- sponsible for the poor reputation of German art in foreign coun- tries. He did not, however, always show so little taste and he has produced some portraits of rare charm. At times he also painted, for his own pleasure, figures and landscapes without any narrative suggestion — good painting for good painting's sake ; fortunately, one of these belongs to this collection. Such works will contribute to vindicate Knaus's fame in the history of art. [277] THE SWINEHERD BY LUDWIG KNAUS [279] LUDWIG KNAUS The Swineherd Painted 1878 Height: 19^4 inches Width: 141/2 inches Signed "L. Knaus 78' Oil on canvas [280] EDUARD VON GEBHARDT [Born 1838] The German-Russian painter Eduard von Gebhardt has achieved great fame through his religious pictures. He introduced a new element into Protestant church painting. The Saviour appears as a contemporary of Luther, the scene is laid in mediaeval in- stead of ancient times, thus bringing the biblical events nearer to the feelings of Protestants. His large compositions, how- ever, have at times an academic and theatrical effect and remind one of the studio where they seem to have been carefully ar- ranged. His studies show a more spontaneous talent. The single figure is to him a favorite subject for profound analysis of character, for expression of fervor, enthusiasm, sorrow and piety, as is shown in the painting in this collection. [283] ADORATION EDUARD VON GEBHARDT [285] EDUARD VON GEBHARDT Adoration Painted 1890 Height: 241/o inches Width: 18V. inches Signed "E. v. Gebhardt" Oil on panel [286] GUSTAV SCHONLEBER [Born 1851] Schonleber is exclusively a landscape painter; he is the founder of the modern school of Karlsruhe, where he is still active. The two paintings in this collection show him as an artist of fine technique and delightful delicacy. His Colmar is of a soft mellowness that reminds one of Daubigny's Evening in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although he has not cut out new paths for art (to do this is the privilege only of a genius), he has, nevertheless, painted pictures of an excellent quality that will undoubtedly preserve his name in the history of painting, where he will hold a place similar to that of Cazin in France. [289] OLD HOUSES IN COLOGNE GUSTAV SCHONLEBER C2913 GUSTAV SCHONLEBER Old Houses in Cologne Painted 1878 Height: 16 inches Width : 1014 inches Signed "G. Schonleber 1878" Oil on pasteboard [292] COLMAR GUSTAV SCHOXLEBER [29a] GUSTAV SCHONLEBER Colmar Painted 1881 Height : 17 inches Width: 19V L . inches Signed "G. Schonleber 1881" Oil on pasteboard csofi: HANS MAKART [1840-1884] Whii-e the historical painters of Munich painted affairs of state in dark tones, there arose a pupil of Piloty, Hans Makart, an enthusiastic prophet of color. A proud proclaimer of the most radiant colorism, he audaciously returned to the style of Titian and Paolo Veronese. His pictures with their luxuriant women, their festive throngs, splendor of costume, fluttering flags, rich vegetation and shining marble, had a striking effect upon the public as well as upon the connoisseurs. His imagination, his astonishing decorative talent, his sense for grandiose harmonies of color, are qualities which will assure to this artist a place in the history of art in spite of the fact that many of his large canvases, in consequence of a careless technique, have lost their original lustre. They are hardly more than reflections of the works which at one time were the delight of Europe and brought honors to their creator such as were bestowed upon the artists of the Renaissance. Besides these large compositions, Makart also painted pictures of smaller dimensions and with a more enduring technique; a few arc perfectly well preserved and will be a lasting memorial to this apostle of colorism. The picture in this collection might have been painted quite recently ; it is of a luminous splendor and gives a good idea of Makart's tempera- mental art. C299] BATHERS SURPRISED HANS MAKART [301 2 HANS MAKART Bathers Surprised Painted 1879 Hciffht : 45 inches Width : 94 inches Oil on canvas Recorded in the "Cyclopaedia of Paintings" (Seribners, New York, publishers). [302: AUGUST VON PETTENKOFEN [1829-1881] The light elegance of the Austrian, the thorough schooling of the German, and the taste of the Frenchman are combined in the precious paintings of this artist. When, as an officer, he was engaged in military manoeuvres in Hungary, he responded to the influence of light, air and color under the glowing sun of the Puszta and unconsciously became an impressionist who depicted in many small canvases the country of which he had grown so fond. The painting in this collection, Sunrise, is an example of his style at that time. Afterward he chose Venice as the scene of his richly colored work ; at a still later period he preferred Paris as an enthusiastic admirer of Meissonier. His pictures became more careful in detail without losing the charming har- mony of color, the soft radiance of tone. The Carriage with Donkeys of this collection dates from this later period of the artist, whose paintings do not betray the discontented tempera- ment that he retained throughout his life. [305] SUNRISE BY AUGUST VON PETTENKOFEN [so?: AUGUST VON FETTENKOFEN Sunrise Pcainted 1859 Height : lS 1 /^ inches Width: 17 : ]4 inches Signed "A. P." Oil on panel Recorded in the "Cyclopaedia of Paintings" (Scribners, New York, publishers). [308] CARRIAGE WITH DONKEYS IN A HUNGARIAN PUMPKIN-FIELD BY AUGUST VON PETTENKOFEN [311] AUGUST VON PETTENKOFEN Carriage with Donkeys in a Hungarian Pumpkin-field Painted 1878 Height : 101/4 inches Width: 121/4 inches Signed "Pettenkofen 1878" Oil on panel [312] MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY [1846-1900] Sedelmeyeb, the veteran Paris art dealer and biographer of Munkacsy, goes so far as to maintain that his hero is the great- est painter of the XIX century. Although one might hesitate to agree with this statement, it must be admitted that purely as a technician Munkacsy reached a culminating point in the art of modern painting. His works have the quality of the old mas- ters, his purely technical ability is equal to that of Courbet and Lcibl. But his art did not emanate, like the art of these two mas- ters, from the soul of the artist who struggles to attain his ideals ; it had its origin rather in the easy mastery of the technical side of painting. He came from Hungary and studied in Diisseldorf. It was perhaps unfortunate for him that his first big work, The Last Day of a Convicted Man, which treated a stirring episode in a popular manner, achieved an immense success in the Paris Salon. Munkacsy became suddenly famous, he moved to Paris and with the sole intention of pleasing the public, he painted one large canvas after another. Later he interpreted religious themes, such as Christ before Pilate and The Crucifixion, owned by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia. In spite of great techni- cal merits they leave the spectator indifferent because of their theatrical composition, apparently arranged for sheer external effect. Munkacsy finally descended to the level of the senti- mental salon-picture. Julius Mcier-Graefe, the eminent German art critic, speaks of a different aspect of Munkacsy. In his book on the "Develop- ment of Modern Art" he writes : "Munkacsy might have become a great painter, and indeed he was a great painter in certain unconscious moments of his youth. There are enchanting pic- tures, called sketches, painted by him during the later 'sixties and earlier 'seventies before he acquired fame as a historical painter. These paintings were done with a few colors, often en- tirely in dark tones, and show that at that time a passionate love for his art, pure and irresistible, impelled his brush. ... In the [sis: first draught of The Last Day of a Convicted Man, where the captive is alone with the soldier, the gloomy power of the color produces a demoniacal atmosphere. The candlestick with the lighted candles as portrayed by this strong 'Goya of the Puszta' has the luminous effect of a Rembrandt. The title is mislead- ing, and this error is perhaps the cause of an incorrect estima- tion of the picture. The Candlestick would be a more appro- priate title." Munkacsy painted this study twice. The first version belongs to this collection ; the second one is hanging in the Budapest Museum. The Hungarian Peasant and the Gypsies in the Forest in this collection date from a still earlier period. In these paintings the artist indulges — without regard to public or success — in the beauty of a style which combines Courbet's vigor with Diaz's delicacy. If one bears in mind that Munkacsy painted these pictures before he had even heard of these French masters, among the dry professors of Diisseldorf, one appreciates the loss which art has suffered through his weak- ness in yielding to the demand of public taste. Pictures like these will preserve Munkacsy's fame for posterity when the works which at one time aroused the enthusiasm of his contem- poraries will be of interest solely as documents of a masterly technique. C316] HUNGARIAN PEASANT MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY [SIT] MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY Hungarian Peasant Painted 1869 Height: 151/4 inches Width: 13V1 inches Signed "M. Munkacsy" Oil on panel [318] GYPSIES IN THE FOREST BY MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY £321 3 MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY Gypsies in the Forest Painted 1868 Height: 22% inches Width : 39 ] /4 inches Signed "Munkacsy M." Oil on panel C322] THE PRISONER BY MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY [325] MICHAEL VON MUNKACSY The Prisoner Painted 1869 Height: %9y 2 inches Width : 381/4 inches Signed "Munkaesy M. Oil on panel Recorded in "Development of Modern Art," by Meier-Graefe, Vol. II, page 321 (R. Pieper & Co., Munich, publishers, 1915). [326] FERDINAND HODLER [Born 1853] The fresco paintings in the armory of the Zurich Landes- museum, the wall paintings in the University of Jena and in the City Hall in Hannover show that Hodler possesses a highly individual art of decoration based upon a structural composi- tion and an austere style. The principle of parallelism is manifested in his Day, where five nude girls awaking from sleep stretch their arms toward the light; and in the Eurhythmy, where five men, seated on a bench in contemplation, symbolize disillusion. This principle completely dominates Hodler's later works. From parallelism he developed his monumental style and became an expressionist. Before entirely adopting this expressionistic decorative style, Hodler, who interpreted nature in a highly individual manner, was one of the best and most original of modern painters. A flood of light emanates from the earliest pictures of this artist. Lake Thun in this collection belongs to this period ; it was painted in 1878, one year before the other landscape, Lake Geneva. The rapidity of Hodler's development is shown by a comparison of these two pictures ; the second one recalls Cezanne, whose name Hodler had not even heard at that time. The Wandering Jew, painted in 1886, marks the height of Hodler's art before his decorative period. A mighty monu- mental style is displayed in this work. Dr. Johannes Widmer, the celebrated Swiss art critic, calls this picture "a standard work of the master who suffered, endured want, struggled and fought for the sake of his art." The discussion in regard to Hodler's expressionism still continues, but the works of his earlier period are of established importance. [329: LAKE THUN BY FERDINAND HODLER [SSI] FERDINAND HODLER Lake Thun Painted 1878 Height: 15 inches Width: 21 1/ 2 inches Signed "F. Hodler" Oil on canvas [332] LAKE GENEVA BY FERDINAND HODLER 1335-2 FERDINAND HODLER Height: 17^4 inches Width : 25l/ 8 inches Lake Geneva Painted 1879 Signed "F. H." and "F. Hodler" Oil on canvas [336] THE WANDERING JEW FERDINAND HODLER 13391 FERDINAND HODLER The Wandering' Jew Painted 1886 Height: 41 1/% inches Width : 34i/ 8 inches Signed "F. Hodler" Oil on canvas Recorded and reproduced in "The Gunzburger Collection/' by Dr. Johannes Widmer (M. Helbing, Munich, publisher). Reproduced in colors in "Jugend," 1914, No. 21 (Georg Hirth, Munich, publisher). [340: afr b tiki I GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00075 9973