Heimweg (Zwei Bäuerinnen am Feldrand). C. 1886.
Oil on canvas.
Signed lower right. With a label of the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle, inv. no. I 1050, as well as inscribed “Blankenburg 82”, “II / 3” and “Lot 36 19 NOV 93” on the reverse of the stretcher. 75.5 x 119 cm (29.7 x 46.8 in).


• This is one of Karl Hagemeister's rare figure paintings.
• In the 1880s, his work was mainly influenced by developments in French art, especially the School of Barbizon.
• One of Hagemeister's preferred depictions is the Wendish traditional dress of simple everyday clothing.
• In 1898, he was a founding member of the Berlin Secession alongside Max Liebermann and others.

PROVENANCE: Oscar Hermes Gallery, Munich (until 1916 at the latest).
Philipp Johann Sparkuhle Collection (1860-1930) (before 1930, presumably acquired before 1913).
Gertrud M. E. Wegmeyer (née Sparkuhle) (from the above)
Schloss Blankenburg, Saxony-Anhalt (placed in storage by the above in 1943, confiscated by the Blankenburg town council in 1945).
Moritzburg Art Museum, Halle (transferred from Blankenburg Castle in 1951).
Sparkuhle estate (reacquired from the above in 1993, until November 19, 1993: Christie's).
Gemälde-Cabinett Unger, Munich.
Private collection, Northern Germany (acquired from the above in 1995, it has remained in the possession of the family).

EXHIBITION: Willy Herrmann (1895-1963) und seine Wegbereiter: Lovis Corinth, Karl Hagemeister, Max Liebermann, Max Slevogt und andere, Gotisches Haus in Spandau, Berlin / Gemälde-Cabinett Unger, Munich, June 10 - July 23, 1995, pp. 70f.

LITERATURE: Hendrikje Warmt, Karl Hagemeister. In Reflexion der Stille. Monograph and catalogue raisonné of paintings, Berlin 2016, cat. no. G 192 (illustrated)
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Presumably Philipp Johann Sparkuhle, Catalogue of the art collection of Ph. J. Sparkuhle, Bremen 1913, cat. no. 37.
Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19th century continental pictures, watercolors and drawings: from various sources, auction November 19, 1993, lot 36 (illustrated).