Sale: 350 / Modern Art, June 19. 2009 in Munich Lot 214

 
Franz von Stuck - Mary mit Biedermeierhut


214
Franz von Stuck
Mary mit Biedermeierhut, 1910.
Oil
Estimate:
€ 25,000 / $ 27,000
Sold:
€ 41,480 / $ 44,798

(incl. surcharge)
Lot: 214
Franz von Stuck
1863 Tettenweis - 1928 München
Mary mit Biedermeierhut. Um 1910.
Oil on wood.
Not in Voss (cf., however, Voss 362/582). Signed right margin, titled in lower centre. 52,3 x 44 cm (20,5 x 17,3 in).
Image in portrait oval extended to octagon. With a label of the Kunstverein Bremen on verso of the frame, there with number "KB 188". In contemporary original frame.

This work's authenticity has kindly been confirmed orally by Ms Margot Brandhuber, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Bremen (acquired directly from artist).

Franz von Stuck attended the Munich School for the Applied Arts before transferring in 1881 to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. By 1882, his drawings for the portfolio “Allegories and Emblems” had earned him a reputation as a draughtsman. In 1889 Stuck was awarded a gold medal for the painting “Die Wächter des Paradieses” [“The Guardians of Paradise”] at the annual exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace. From then on, he addressed himself exclusively to painting, becoming the most sought-after portraitist of his days. Captured in regal poses, his sitters are at a far remove from mundane concerns as they are both exalted and timeless. Apart from some early landscapes and numerous portraits, it was mythological and symbolic themes that shaped the painter’s œuvre. At the 1893 exhibition mounted by the Munich Secession Stuck was a founding member – his painting “Die Sünde” [“Sin”] created a stir. Appointed a professor at the Munich Art Academy in 1895, he also became chairman of the board of the Genossenschaft Pan [Pan Co-operative], designing the covers for Pan , its art magazine. In 1897 Stuck began building the Villa Stuck in Prinzregentenstraße, Munich. Franz von Stuck himself designed the building, the interiors and the furnishings, which, as an aesthetic whole, represent one of the most important total works of art of the time. The furnishings of the Villa Stuck were awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Exposition. Along with numerous other prizes, Franz von Stuck was also awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, an honour which also entailed being raised to the life peerage.
Franz Stuck married Mary Lindpaintner, a rich American, in 1897. The couple adopted Stuck’s daughter Mary, who had been born out of wedlock. Mary posed for many of the portraits Franz von Stuck painted over the years. She is often portrayed in costumes, particularly often in Spanish dress, and in the apparel of the Biedermeier era that underwent a renaissance in the years leading up to the first world war. On the threshold of young adulthood - Mary was about fourteen at the time this portrait was painted - the sitter is depicted in half profile. The child-like naif quality of early portraits of her has yielded to a rather reticent detachment. From beneath a voluminous hat with a scarf, the sideways glance reveals the coquettish allure that figures so prominently in nearly all Stuck portraits. The exquisitely modelling handling of the face contrasts with spacious brushwork that suggests the cloth texture of the hat and scarf. At the time he painted this portrait, Franz von Stuck was at the zenith of his fame - showered with honours and affluent, he could pick and choose the motifs and models that matched his ideas.
In the last phase of his work, Stuck turned increasingly to sculpture. Showered with honours and a member of many European academies, Franz von Stuck died in Munich in 1928. [KD].

In very good condition. Lower margins and cheek with few tiny retouchings.

EUR: 25.000 - 35.000 DIFF.(19%)
US$: 34.100 - 47.740




214
Franz von Stuck
Mary mit Biedermeierhut, 1910.
Oil
Estimate:
€ 25,000 / $ 27,000
Sold:
€ 41,480 / $ 44,798

(incl. surcharge)