- 34
Fritz Boehle
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Fritz Boehle
- The Potato Harvest
- signed F. Boehle and dated 1899 (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 59 1/4 by 67 1/4 in.
- 150.5 by 170.5 cm
Provenance
LaRoche-Ringwald, Basel (and sold, his sale, Eduard Schulte, Berlin, November 29, 1910, lot 16)
Adolph Bensinger, Mannheim (by 1916 and sold, his forced sale, Nagel, Mannheim, February 20, 1940, lot 34, illustrated)
Dr. Hanisch (possibly acquired at the above sale)
Kunsthandlung J.P. Schneider, Frankfurt am Main (by 1972)
Polytechnische Gesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main (by 1972)
Frankfurter Sparkasse, Frankfurt am Main
Returned to the heirs of Adolph Bensinger in 2012 (and sold, Sotheby's, London, November 20, 2012, lot 43, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Adolph Bensinger, Mannheim (by 1916 and sold, his forced sale, Nagel, Mannheim, February 20, 1940, lot 34, illustrated)
Dr. Hanisch (possibly acquired at the above sale)
Kunsthandlung J.P. Schneider, Frankfurt am Main (by 1972)
Polytechnische Gesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main (by 1972)
Frankfurter Sparkasse, Frankfurt am Main
Returned to the heirs of Adolph Bensinger in 2012 (and sold, Sotheby's, London, November 20, 2012, lot 43, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Condition
This work is in original unlined condition, reinforced along the edges with a strip lining. On the reverse, small dots of glue or wax have appear at regular intervals down the right and left edges, with no associated retouches visible. Under UV: finely applied and precise areas of retouching are sparsely applied in isolated spots.
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.
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
The art of Fritz Boehle resists classification; while his artistic style and choice of subject is indebted to many of the greatest artists in the history of German Art, such as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Thoma, his aesthetic approach is distinctly original. Working in painting, printmaking and sculpture, he attended the Städel Art Institute where he was a colleague of Rudolf Yelin, who attributed the younger Boehle as a major influence on his own work.
The Potato Harvest, a large scale, frieze-like composition of field workers under a cloudy, rain-showered sky, connects Boehle to a long tradition of iconic realist compositions which he would certainly have known, including Jean-François Millet’s The Potato Planters (1861, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Vincent Van Gogh’s Farmers Planting Potatoes (1884, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands, fig. 1). One of the early owners of The Potato Harvest was the prominent collector, Adolph Bensinger, and in his villa in Mannheim (fig. 2), this extraordinary canvas hung alongside other major German works of art by Thoma, Max Liebermann and Adolf Menzel, as well as paintings by Van Gogh, Giovanni Segantini (fig. 3) and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, among others.
The Potato Harvest, a large scale, frieze-like composition of field workers under a cloudy, rain-showered sky, connects Boehle to a long tradition of iconic realist compositions which he would certainly have known, including Jean-François Millet’s The Potato Planters (1861, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Vincent Van Gogh’s Farmers Planting Potatoes (1884, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands, fig. 1). One of the early owners of The Potato Harvest was the prominent collector, Adolph Bensinger, and in his villa in Mannheim (fig. 2), this extraordinary canvas hung alongside other major German works of art by Thoma, Max Liebermann and Adolf Menzel, as well as paintings by Van Gogh, Giovanni Segantini (fig. 3) and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, among others.