Max Liebermann

Jablonsky, New York

Galerie Rosenbach, Hannover

Sale: Lempertz, Cologne, May 31, 1960, lot 225

Sale: Weinmüller, Munich, March 16, 1961, lot 1070

Sale: Lempertz, Cologne, April 28, 1972, lot 551

Galerie Artina, Paris

B. Gerald Cantor, New York (acquired from the above on October 4, 1972)

Acquired from the above

Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1973 (on loan)

Weltkunst, vol. XXXI, no. 4, Munich, 1961, illustrated p. 19

Matthias Eberle, Max Liebermann, Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde und Ölstudien, vol. II, Munich, 1996, illustrated p. 1044

According to Dr. Matthias Eberle, Gartenlokal an der Havel unter Bäumen, also known as Gartenrestaurant an der Havel, depicts one of the Biergartens on the Wannsee lake, just a few kilometers southwest of Berlin.  Liebermann painted scenes of the lake's restaurants and cafés several times, but only five paintings of this particular venue are recorded. Each of these paintings is signed but not dated.  Eberle has concluded that this picture was completed in the summer of 1921, around the same time as a related drawing (Schiefler no. 358).

Liebermann bought his house by the Wannsee, on the outskirts of Berlin in 1910.  The gardens of his home and the bustling crowds of Berliners at their leisure along the outdoor cafés by the lake and rivers were the key subjects of his art.  The smart crowd sits under a cool canopy of trees while the billowing sails of the yachts cruise by on the lake behind them.  The scene of weekending urbanites engaged in conversation and the interest in yachting is reminiscent of the French Impressionists’ focus on the rising leisure class and the increased mobility of Parisians at the end of the 19^th Century.   The lively gathering, vibrant, sun-lit colors and spontaneous Post-Impressionist brushstrokes through which the scene is rendered emphasize Liebermann’s life-affirming vision that endured until the very end of his long career.