Sale: 422 / Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century, May 22. 2015 in Munich Lot 177

 

177
Wilhelm von Kobell
Reiter vor Schondorf am Ammersee, Ca. 1820/30.
Watercolor
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 52,500 / $ 56,700

(incl. surcharge)
Reiter vor Schondorf am Ammersee. Ca. 1820/30er Jahre.
Watercolor.
On thin board, laminated on paper. 17.3 x 21.7 cm (6.8 x 8.5 in).
With inscription "Wilhelm Kobell" on backing paper.

Verso with laminated confirmation issued by Dr. Otto Weigmann, director of Graphische Sammlung Munich, dated 1 February, 1927.

PROVENANCE: Ludwigs-Galerie, München, owner Otto H. Nathan, 25 June, 1927 (verso with inscription by H. Stinnes).
Collection Heinrich Stinnes (1867-1932), Cologne (recto and verso of backing paper with collector stamp, Lugt 1376a).
Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, 15th auction, 3 December, 1975, lot 2018 (with color illu. in cat.).

After years of painting battle scenes, Kobell turned to a new image type in the 1820s and 1830s, which is generally described as "plei-air portrait" or "encounter picture". In these pictures he depicts elegant gentlemen and ladies, often mounted on a horse, huntsmen, peasants and children in front of the Munich city silhouette or on Upper Bavarian lakes, as it is the case with this watercolor. With St. Jacobs church in Schondorff, erected in 1150, in left middle distance it shows a view over the Ammersee up to the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Kobell describes a rural idyl, a happy country life after all the previous years had been coined by war and revolution. Generally, these works already hint at the landscape art concept of early Biedermeier. Naturally, Kobell made use of his vast knowledge of horse painting and the multi-figure battle scenes, however, he composed calm and contemplative encounters of just a few people and animals. Kobell uses the shadows of the isolated persons as a subtle connective element. Just as it was the case with the battle scenes, Kobell also prepared these pictures in numerous studies and sketches and uses single elements in new combinations for several compositions.



177
Wilhelm von Kobell
Reiter vor Schondorf am Ammersee, Ca. 1820/30.
Watercolor
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 52,500 / $ 56,700

(incl. surcharge)