Carl Maria Nicolaus Hummel

Gerhard Schnepp Kunsthandel, Berlin
Private collection, Florida (until 2016)

The canvas has not been lined. There is a very light pattern of surface craquelure throughout. Ultra-violet light reveals very finely applied lines of in-painting in the sky, some clusters of fine strokes in and around the tree trunk to the left and around the lower tree to the right of the composition, and some other fine scattered strokes. It should be noted that these retouchings have all been very carefully applied and are not visually distracting. The picture is in good condition and ready to hang. Presented in a gilt frame The colours are deeper and richer than in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Views of the island of Rügen on Germany’s Baltic Coast were made famous by the father of German Romantic painting, Caspar David Friedrich, in his iconic composition The Chalk Cliffs of Rügen of 1818 (Museum Oskar Reinhart am Stadtgarten, Winterthur). No doubt inspired by Friedrich, Weimar-born painter Friedrich Preller (1804-1878) made two trips to the island, in 1839 and in 1847. On the first occasion, he was accompanied by his talented eighteen-year-old student Carl Maria Hummel and by Erfurt painter Ferdinand Bellermann. The three painters spent twenty days on Rügen, during which they would have come upon the present view looking north towards the white cliffs of the Cape of Arkona. Only two other works by Hummel of Rügen are known: one of the white cliffs of the Stubbenkammer (Museum Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt); the other of the cliffs at Saßnitz sold at Sotheby’s Munich on 21 June 1994.