Adolph von Menzel

This condition report has been provided by Jane McAusland FIIC, Conservator and Restorer of Art on Paper, Nether Hall Barn, Old Newton, Nr Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14. Support This delicate drawing is laid down on to thin card. The paper is of a wove variety and is probably a sketch book page. The sheet is slightly time stained and there is some light foxing showing. There is a small surface disturbance on the face of the older woman, below the gentleman and other small imperfections. Otherwise, the condition is good. Medium The medium is in a good condition. The illustration is comparable with the original. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions. JANE McAUSLAND
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This delightful cameo relates to one of the figures in Menzel's seminal 1878 oil painting, Das Ballsouper, in the Nationalgalerie, Berlin (fig.1). Among the studies for the painting are two pencil studies for this drawing (Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, N1235 & N1236). Both show the sitter in exactly the same posture, precariously balancing a small soup cup in her left hand while guiding her spoon to her mouth with her right.

Ursula Riemann-Reyher points out that the present drawing is not a study for the finished painting, however; but rather one of the rare stand-alone drawings - in this case inspired by the Ballsouper - that Menzel executed in pen and ink in the 1870s and after. These were either commissioned by journals such as the Graphic or the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, as ink drawings could more easily be made into prints for the purpose of mass reproduction; or as gifts for friends or for charitable events, which is more likely the case here.  

Menzel was a regular at Berlin's royal balls. The French reader to the court, Jules Laforgue, described his presence at these events as 'a man not taller than the boot of a Gardekürassier, laden with necklaces and medals, including a Legion of honour; he turns left, then right, knows everyone and never misses a soirée; gnome-like he mingles with dignitaries, the enfant terrible of history painters' (Jules Laforgue, Berlin, der Hof und die Stadt, Frankfurt, 1887, p. 47).

Menzel is generally credited with revitalising history painting with his many portrayals of Frederick II in the 1840s and 1850s in which the monarch is depicted as a liberal modern ruler in a realist manner. In a parallel development, Menzel elevated the genre scene by historicising it. Unlike the sentimental treatment of these subjects by many of his contemporaries Menzel's approach to genre painting often displayed an ironic, comic or slightly remote quality. Typically, Das Ballsouper does not depict sophisticated, elegant society dancing at the royal ball, but the moment of the storm on the buffet – the moment where etiquette and good manners are temporarily suspended and man's true nature is revealed.

Accordingly, the present work depicts a fashionable young lady wholly absorbed by her repast. Balancing plate in one hand, and laden spoon in the other, she carefully leans over so as not to risk getting soup on her elegant silk dress. This dichotomy between high social standing, elegant attire and rather common eating habits is further explored in delicious detail in the oil.  When it was first exhibited in Paris in 1885 a critic commented 'this is a masterpiece of ironic honesty – perhaps unintentionally – a cruel satire, in which the observed reality unfolds before our eyes as a conflict between elegance and vulgarity, a ridiculous pandemonium revealed by the bright lights of the crystal chandeliers' (Louis Gonze, Exposition Adolph Menzel, in Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1885, no. 2, p. 522).

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Dr Ursula Riemann-Reyher. 

Fig.1. Adolph Menzel, Das Ballsouper, 1878, Nationalgalerie Berlin