Carl Friedrich Deiker

Vigilant Fox - The psyche of the fox -

1854

Franz Xaver Graessel (1861 Oberasbach/Baden - 1948 Emmering). In the forest of Durlach. 1881. Pencil drawing, heightened with white, on grey-green paper. 33 x 41.7 cm. Signed, dated and inscribed by the artist himself: 'Franz Graessel. Durlach, 12 April 1881". About the artwork The drawing depicts a view of the woods which, as if sharpening the visual focus, remains diffuse at the edges and does not allow the viewer to locate himself in the picture. As a result, the landscape appears to be an apparition, but at the same time it is given real substance by the solidity of the massive arched bridge made of quarry stone. As the main motif of the painting, the bridge, which blends in with nature like an archaic relic, also acts as a visual guide, drawing attention to the white, raised waters of the stream and the surrounding vegetation. The diffusion of perception that takes place there, however, draws the eye back to the bridge and thus to the overall view. This movement initiating a constant alternation of diffusion and concretion, which is the specific tension of the painting that brings the landscape to life. The materialisation and dematerialisation, however, does not take place solely through the eye's wandering through the picture; it is simultaneously linked to the viewer's approach to and distance from the picture, which loses its richness of detail precisely in the close-up, only to reconfigure itself with increasing distance. In this work, which dates from Graessel's studies in Karlsruhe, the artist reflects on the emergence of pictorial objectivity. Here, however, nature is more than a mere motif. The real connection between culture and nature is symbolically expressed by the choice of green paper. The drawing is an impressive testimony to Graessel's mastery of the sprezzatura with which he skilfully applies the most abstract of strokes, which visibly merge towards the centre of the picture. The signature and the exact date prove that Graessel gave this work more than the character of a mere sketch. About the artist Franz Graessel grew up in an environment that was to nourish his later key motifs: his parents' house was a mill. After attending the Karlsruhe Academy of Art from 1878 to 1884, where he studied under Carl Hoff, Graessel continued his training at the Munich Academy from 1886 to 1890 as a pupil of Wilhelm von Lindenschmidt. Trained primarily in genre and portrait painting, he initially portrayed the life of Black Forest farmers. From 1894 he turned increasingly to animal painting, concentrating on the depiction of ducks and geese, which earned him the nickname 'Enten-Graessel'. Graessel's work thus parallels that of Alexander Koester...

Reiner Schwarz (*1940 Hirschberg), The Lady with the Dog, 1971. Lithograph, 33 cm x 26 (image), 59 cm x 42 cm (sheet size), signed in pencil at lower right "R.[ein] Schwarz", dated "...

Rudolf Nehmer (1912 Bobersberg - 1983 Dresden), Blessed are the spiritually poor, 1948. Woodcut on yellowish wove paper, 20 cm x 15 cm (image), 45 cm x 30 cm (sheet size), signed “Ru...

Theodor Hosemann (1807 Brandenburg - 1875 Berlin), The actor Karl Seydelmann probably as Max Piccolomini, around 1840. Watercolor with pencil, 20.5 cm (height) x 14.7 cm (width), sig...

Le Renard is an etching realized by Jean Charles Baquoy in 1771. It belongs to the suite "Histoire Naturelle de Buffon". The Artist's signature is engraved lower right. Good condi...

This etching and engraving, titled "Renard," depicts a fox in a dynamic and alert posture. The artwork captures the fox's thick fur, bushy tail, and sharp features with exquisite det...

The Wolf is an original lithograph on ivory-colored paper, realized by Paul Gervais (1816-1879). The artwork is from The Series of "Les Trois Règnes de la Nature", and was published ...

Greg's witty and charming oil painting on aluminum comes framed in a floater frame which adds 1.75 inches all the way around. "Greg Decker is a visionary painter. His work epitomize...