Lot 66
  • 66

Isaac Grünewald

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description

  • Isaac Grünewald
  • Lot och hans döttrar (Lot and his Daughters)
  • signed Isaac lower right
  • oil on canvas
  • 100 by 65cm., 39½ by 25½in.

Provenance

Dr Emil Hultmark, Stockholm (After studying at the universities of Upsala and Berlin and extensive travels throughout Europe, Hultmark settled in Stockholm. There, focusing on Swedish and Chinese works in particular he put together one of the most extensive and important private art collections in Swedish hands. A noted bibliophile, philanthropist and intellectual, Hultmark amassed an unparalleled archive and library devoted to Swedish artists and craftsmen, published histories of the Swedish Royal Academy and Swedish Copper Engravers and Etchers, made major donations to the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, facilitated the acquisition of a series of major Chinese paintings for the Nationalmuseum and made significant contributions to the Royal Academy of Arts and the Swedish Institute.)
Thence by descent to the present owner, granddaughter of the above

Condition

Original canvas. There are no signs of retouching visible under ultraviolet light. This work is in overall very good original condition, with rich, bright colours and areas of strong impasto. Held in a decorative, black and copper-painted moulded plaster and wood frame.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The subject of the present work is from Genesis (Chapter 19, verses 33-36), in which Lot's daughters, thinking they are the sole survivors of the destruction of the five cities of the plain, seduce their father. Having taken refuge in a cave, the daughters ply Lot with wine as the city of Sodom burns in the distance.

As a Swedish-Jewish expressionist painter and a trail-blazer for Swedish modern art, Grünewald was the focus of much opprobrium and ridicule by the press in his homeland. While the subject of Lot and his Daughters was a time-honoured tradition, most notably in Baroque painting, Grünewald would certainly have related to the common interpretation of Lot as a righteous man surrounded by wickedness.

After studying art in Sweden, Grünewald travelled to France to study alongside Henri Matisse at his academy in Paris. The impact of Grünewald's time there can be seen in the voluptuous figures, vivid and varied palette and the definition of forms using solid and sinuous line. The painting also reveals Grünewald's interest in theatre, the standing figure raising her arms as if parting the curtains of a stage. Grünewald went on to execute a number of important set and stage designs, in particular for the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, projects for which he received praise and recognition from his contemporaries, among them Picasso, Léger and Derain as well as Matisse.

FIG. 1, Axel Fridell, Portrait of Dr Emil Hultmark