Die Woge. 1915.
Oil on canvas.
Warmt G 563. Lower right signed and dated. 99 x 149 cm (38.9 x 58.6 in).

PROVENANCE: Gemälde-Cabinett Unger, Dachau.
Galerie Eduard Schulte, Düsseldorf (verso with hand-written note).
Private collection Northern Germany.
Private collection Schleswig-Holstein (acquired from the above in 1981, ever since family-owned).

LITERATURE: Horst Ludwig, Karl Hagemeister, in: Münchner Maler im 19. Jahrhundert, Bruckmanns Lexikon der Münchner Kunst, Munich 1982, vol. 2, p. 80 (with illu.).

"I understand that I can't just copy waves, even if that was possible with the help of snapshots. These waves would just stand still. In order to paint their motion, I have to study them very closely, the transparency of the atmosphere, the waves' rhythm, and once I have captured everything, I have to render it from my sensation. Only this way I can make sure to enthuse the observer. The last couple of stays at the sea convinced me to paint nothing but the sea in order to master it – a great task, considering that Courbet is the only one able to depict an impression of infinity and the sea's omnipotence."
Karl Hagemeister, quoted from: Ex. cat. Galerie Heinemann, Munich, 1912, p. 18.