From the chess collection of Lothar Schmid
Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch
Four versions of 'The Chess Players'
No reserve
Lot Closed
April 17, 02:27 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description
Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch
Dresden 1779-1857
Four versions of 'The Chess Players'
a) pen and brown ink, over black chalk
162 by 224 mm
b) graphite/pencil on paper;
signed lower right: M.R. 702710 1844
230 by 285 mm
c) graphite/pencil on tracing paper
222 by 191 mm
d) graphite/pencil on paper
199 by 225 mm
(4)
[sold with:] 14 prints after the composition by various artists
Like many artists of his generation, inspired by Goethe’s Faust published in 1808, engraver and painter Retzsch held a fascination for the story of Mephistopheles and his bet with God that Faust (a man seeking to learn all that is possible to learn) could be lured away from a righteous and honorable path. Retzsch famously illustrated German publisher Cotta’s 1818 edition of Faust in the form of 26 engravings.
When American chess master Paul Morphy (1837-84) studied the composition years later, he noticed something surprising. By carefully analysing the position of the pieces, he concluded that the young man was not actually in checkmate, as it seemed. There was still one move that could place the Devil in check and turn the game around.
This interpretation transformed the painting into a symbol of strategic hope: even when all seems lost, a clever move can change fate.
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