Cuno Amiet

Sammlung Kottmann-Müller, Solothurn
Sotheby’s, Zurich, 26th November 1980, lot 115
Private collection, Switzerland (1980)

Zurich, Kunsthaus, Ausstellung zur Eröffnung des Kunsthauses am Heimplatz, 1910, no. 320
Bern, Kunsthalle, Ausstellung Cuno Amiet, 1919, no. 112

Oscar Miller, Persönliches aus meinem Verhältnis zur Amietschen Kunst, Frauenfeld 1914, p. 3 and p. 4
Schweizer Kunst, exhibition catalogue, Sotheby’s, Zurich, 26th November 1980, lot 115, ill. (full page in colour)
Franz Müller/Viola Radlach unter der Mitarbeit von Larissa Ullmann, Cuno Amiet. Die Gemälde 1883-1919, part 2, Zurich 2014, p. 367, no. 1910.33, ill. (in colour)

Has not been relined. Canvas slightly wavy in the upper left corner. Under UV light no retouching visible. Excellent condition.
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Cuno Amiet began exploring the work of Vincent Van Gogh in 1905. The Zurich collector Richard Kisling lent him the Van Gogh painting Les deux enfants from 1890 for study purposes. The involvement with the paintings of the Dutch painter had an influence on Amiet's work in stylistic terms. His brushwork became freer and more expressive.

The depiction of a farmer’s shown from behind is unique in the oeuvre of Cuno Amiet. Its title refers directly to the centrally placed blue blouse within the painting. According to the authors of the catalogue raisonée for the work of Cuno Amiet, the colour of the blue blouse is the main topic of his painting. As a source of inspiration for the motif, Amiet probably drew on the theme of the sower of Van Gogh, which he references in this extraordinary painting and, as it were, transforms with his personal style.

Cuno Amiet setzte sich seit 1905 mit dem Schaffen Vincent Van Goghs auseinander. Der Zürcher Sammler Richard Kisling lieht ihm zu Studienzwecken das Van Gogh-Gemälde Les deux enfant von 1890 auf die Oschwand aus. Die Auseinandersetzung mit den Bildern des holländischen Malers hatte für Amiets Schaffen in stilistischer Hinsicht Konsequenzen. Sein Pinselduktus wurde freier und expressiver.

Die Darstellung eines Bauern in Rückenansicht ist einzigartig im Oeuvre von Cuno Amiet. Gemäss den Autoren des Werkkataloges Cuno Amiet ist die Farbe der blauen Bluse das eigentliche Thema seiner Malerei. Als Inspirationsquelle für das Motive diente Amiet wohl das Thema des Sämanns von Van Gogh, welches er in diesem ausserordentlichen Gemälde zitierte und gleichsam in seinen persönlichen Stil umsetzte.