Lot 57
  • 57

Adolph Menzel

Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 USD
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Description

  • Adolph Menzel
  • Study of a Knight and Suit of Armor
  • signed Ad. Menzel. and dated 66  (lower right)
  • watercolor and gouache heightened with white and pencil on paper laid down on paper-board
  • 11 1/2 by 8 7/8 in.
  • 29.2 by 22.4 cm

Provenance

Sale: Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin, November 18, 1930
Private Collector, Delaware

Exhibited

Berlin, Ausstellung von Werken Adolph von Menzels, Königliche National-Galerie, no. 4589

Literature

Hugo von Tschudi, Adolph von Menzel, Abbildungen seiner Gemälde und Studien, Munich, 1905, no. 545, illustrated

Condition

Original paper has been laid down on heavy paper which has itself been laid down on a paper-board, likely a framing mat, which has been embossed "Adolph Menzel." The paper has likely been cut down at all edges and is cut at an irregular diagonal at the lower left corner. Spots of foxing throughout the surface is most noticeable in the background.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

From the spring of 1862 through 1865, Menzel used the guard room in Berlin's royal palace as a studio while working on his large scale composition The Coronation of William I.   While the room was emptied of a majority of its contents, some Renaissance-era arms and armour remained.  The objects inspired Menzel to complete an intriguing series of watercolor and gouaches in late 1865 and early 1866 which were exhibited as Fantasies from the Arms Room (Claude Keisch and Marie Ursula Riemann-Reyher, Adolph Menzel, 1815-1905, Between Romanticism and Impressionism, exh.cat., New Haven, 1996, pp. 326-8) . The present work is related to this series.