Sale: 382 / Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century, Oct. 27. 2011 in Munich Lot 90

 
Jakob Grünenwald - Heimkehr vom Feld


90
Jakob Grünenwald
Heimkehr vom Feld, 1860.
Oil on canvas
Estimate:
€ 5,000 / $ 5,400
Sold:
€ 6,250 / $ 6,750

(incl. surcharge)
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right. 62 x 50 cm (24,4 x 19,6 in)

Grünenwald was born in the small village of Bünzwangen in 1821, he grew up in rural surroundings in the Swabian Alps. After a lithographer apprenticeship in Göppingen he worked in a factory for goods made of steel sheet, where he adorned household utensils with lacquer paintings. In 1840 Grünenwald began to study at the Stuttgart Art School with Bernhard von Neher and Heinrich von Rustige, he was schooled to be a history painter in the style of the Nazarene movement. Five years later he received his first commision work for the high altar of the municipal church in Spaichingen. In 1853 Grünenwald relocated to Munich, where, under the influence of the School of Piloty, he familiarized with genre painting, which would dominate his work from that point on. Over the following years his paintings were on display in numerous group exhibitions in Munich, Berlin and Dresden. In 1863 he was commissioned to execute the fresco “Die Schlacht bei Aidenbach“ (Battle of Aidenbach) in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, which is not in existence any longer. Together with Ludwig Richter, Carl von Piloty, Moritz von Schwind and others, Grünenwald illustrated the collection of folk songs by Georg Scherer. The participation in the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 marked the peak of his success, there he presented his main work “Nach dem Hagelschlag“ (After the Hailstorm), which is in possession of the Stuttgart State Gallery today. Other renowned works from this main period of artistic creation are: “Mädchen auf dem Felde“ (Girl on the Field), “Heimkehr vom Feld“ (Returning from the Field) and “Kasperletheater“ (Punch and Judy show). In 1877 Grünenwald returned to Stuttgart and was appointed professor of the drawing class at the academy. As a board member of the “Verein für christliche Kunst in der evangelischen Kirche in Württemberg“ (Association for Christian Art in the Protestant Church of Württemberg), he made numerous designs for frescoes and glass windows. In these religious works he again picks up the Nazarene style from his early work. In 1896 Grünenwald died in Stuttgart. The same year his first single exhibition after his death was organized as an estate- and commemorative exhibition in Stuttgar. His landscape paintings, which Grünenwald executed as a mere pastime during his holidays on Lake Starnberg and which had previously been unknown to the public, were also shown in the context of this exhibition.

century. It was perhaps for the increasing urbanization and the beginning industrialization that Grünenwald chose to depict an ideal unity of man and nature, in which people seek orientation with the rhythm of nature and where children can grow up in harmony with animals. Young farmer families with goats and dogs returning, jauntily returning from the harvest or from working on the field at the end of the day are typical and reocurring elements in his paintings. The actual toil is rarely depicted in Grünenwald‘s work. The painting style he developed in his days in Munich, a strong emphasis with subtle nuances and indistinct contours, support the depiction of a lovely and idyllic world.

In 1877 Grünenwald returned to Stuttgart and was appointed professor of the drawing class at the academy. As a board member of the “Verein für christliche Kunst in der evangelischen Kirche in Württemberg“ (Association for Christian Art in the Protestant Church of Württemberg), he made numerous designs for frescoes and glass windows. In these religious works he again picks up the Nazarene style from his early work. In 1896 Grünenwald died in Stuttgart. The same year his first single exhibition after his death was organized as an estate- and commemorative exhibition in Stuttgar. His landscape paintings, which Grünenwald executed as a mere pastime during his holidays on Lake Starnberg and which had previously been unknown to the public, were also shown in the context of this exhibition. [CB]




90
Jakob Grünenwald
Heimkehr vom Feld, 1860.
Oil on canvas
Estimate:
€ 5,000 / $ 5,400
Sold:
€ 6,250 / $ 6,750

(incl. surcharge)