Items Similar to Admirer (surrealist oil painting sea lion red sky lady animal rose)
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10
Rudolf KosowAdmirer (surrealist oil painting sea lion red sky lady animal rose)2025
2025
$9,365
£7,044.73
€8,160.99
CA$13,202.71
A$14,682.30
CHF 7,706.24
MX$179,043.54
NOK 97,391.62
SEK 91,308.53
DKK 60,912.63
About the Item
In Admirer, Kosow constructs a scene of surreal tenderness and quiet strangeness, merging Americana-inflected nostalgia with a dreamlike, symbolic composition. At the forefront, a massive sea lion, rendered in meticulous, almost photographic oil detail, sits upright like a stoic guardian. Clenched gently in its mouth is a single red rose—an emblem of affection that feels both courtly and absurd.
At its base, a young woman in vintage mid-century attire—collared blouse, dark skirt—leans slightly forward, her eyes downcast, one hand grazing the creature’s side. Her pose conveys a mix of shyness, contemplation, and reverence. The relationship between the two figures is deliberately ambiguous: is the animal offering the rose, or is it a sentinel keeping watch over her?
The background burns with a vast, molten sky—intensely red and orange clouds that evoke both romance and menace—while two patches of verdant grass pierce through the otherwise blank white ground. The setting feels at once infinite and stage-like, collapsing natural realism into a theatrical tableau.
Kosow’s signature themes—human-animal relationships, scale dissonance, and the tension between intimacy and unease—are all present. The sea lion’s monumental presence dwarfs the woman, yet the soft gesture of the rose undermines any sense of threat. The piece inhabits a contemporary surrealistic space where affection, absurdity, and quiet power coexist, inviting viewers into a narrative that is impossible to fully resolve yet deeply felt.
- Creator:Rudolf Kosow (1972, German, Kazakhstani)
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 59.06 in (150 cm)Width: 53.15 in (135 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Quebec, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU907116795442
Rudolf Kosow
Like images from a dream, Rudolf Kosow’s Surrealist figurative and still-life paintings and drawings conjure into reality otherworldly and absurdist scenes.
Kosow was born in 1972 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. From 1994 to 2000, he studied painting at the city’s State Academy of Fine Arts.
Now based in Germany, he divides his time between Stuttgart and the town of Laichingen. He creates oil paintings based on three subjects: humans, animals and landscapes. He invites the viewer to interpret each work’s enigmatic message. For instance, in Contact, an astronaut is seemingly unaware of a colossal cat’s peering eye. In Missing Pieces, Kosow depicts a couple considering the whereabouts of slices taken from a giant Black Forest cake.
Kosow also explores the nature of human relationships in his portraits, such as Couple and Discord. Capture features a large-scale image of a sleeping girl juxtaposed with a miniature soldier standing guard.
“I try to paint things as realistically and as close as possible to enhance the real impression,” Kosow says in his artist’s statement. Although the imagery in his paintings and figurative drawings can be strange and somewhat unsettling, Kosow’s unique interplay of light and shadow creates a sense of “calm, harmony and peace.”
Kosow has exhibited across Germany and France. His works are sought by collectors of 21st-century Surrealist art.
On 1stDibs, find a range of Rudolf Kosow’s paintings, drawings and more.
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Professional Seller
Every seller passes strict standards for authenticity and reliability
Established in 2017
1stDibs seller since 2018
212 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Laichingen, Germany
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllSoulmates (brown pet dog, lady, vintage, animal, surrealist oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Soulmates," a poignant work by Rudolf Kosow, tenderly illustrates the profound bond shared between a dog and a human. In this intimate portrayal, the dog's gaze is imbued with an emotional depth that transcends the boundaries between species. Its eyes, rendered with striking clarity, convey a world of understanding and companionship.
The lady, is nestled against the dog's face in a pose that suggests a mutual trust and shared existence. This closeness speaks to a relationship that goes beyond the conventional pet-owner dynamic, hinting at a deeper, spiritual connection—a true meeting of souls.
In Kosow's vision, the concept of soulmates expands, encompassing the idea that our most understanding and compassionate partners may not be human at all. The painting's title, "Soulmates," encapsulates the notion that kindred spirits are connected not by words, but by the heart and soul, through gestures of love and moments of silent understanding.
With "Soulmates," Kosow invites us to contemplate the essence of connection and the forms it can take. It's a celebration of the unspoken bond that animals and humans can share, an acknowledgment that the purest forms of love and understanding sometimes require no language. This piece serves as a beautiful reminder of the loyalty, comfort, and unconditional acceptance that define the most precious of life's relationships.
keywords; painting on canvas, surrealist painting, animal vs human, americana, nature, man, man vs nature, surrealism, giant animal...
Category
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rival (surrealist oil painting bull red sky man brown animal)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In Rival, Rudolf Kosow conjures a surreal confrontation where human and beast are caught in an ambiguous dance of dominance, awe, and connection. A shirtless man, eyes locked and arm...
Category
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Investigation II
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
In "Investigation II", banal, everyday things meet in this painting to create an unusual, strange, absurd and ironical situation derived by the disproportional scale size of things. ...
Category
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Phenomenon (cat eyes head mystery men vintage nostalgia figurative scene)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Absurd scenery in the middle of nowhere: a section of a giant cat's head suddenly appears out of
nowhere, an event that lets seemingly random passing...
Category
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Soulmate (white Swan Woman bather red green vintage surrealist oil painting)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Soulmate is a superbe original painting on canvas depicting a woman bather next to a giant white Swan on a green lawn against an intense red sky.
keywords; white Swan, woman bather,...
Category
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Diva (chicken oil painting surrealist red sky lady in pink robe Farm animal)
By Rudolf Kosow
Located in Quebec, Quebec
Rudolf Kosow’s Diva is a striking contemporary surrealist painting that stages a poetic and unsettling encounter between a young girl and a monumental Polish chicken—its iridescent p...
Category
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$6,960 Sale Price
20% Off
You May Also Like
"The Embrace" (2015) By John Tarantola, Original Nude Oil Portrait Painting
Located in Denver, CO
John Tarantola's original nude portrait "The Embrace" (2015) is a beautiful surrealist oil on panel painting that depicts an athletic nude male figure embracing the bright silhouette...
Category
2010s Surrealist Nude Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Large Figurative Oil Painting with Nude Greyhounds and Surreal Red Landscape
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
The artwork will be shipped rolled in a tube to your adress. For other shipping options please contact with our gallery.
At Escat Gallery we are committed to maintaining the highest...
Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Daylight Dreamer" Oil Painting by Claudia Griesbach-Martucci, Whimsical Lamb
By Claudia Griesbach-Martucci
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach-Martucci's "Daylight Dreamer" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lamb in a peaceful trance surrounded by flowers, a butterfly and a bee. This pain...
Category
2010s Realist Animal Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
"Baby's Breath and Roses" (2023) By John Tarantola, Nude Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
John Tarantola's original nude portrait "Baby's Breath and Roses" (2023) is a surrealist oil on panel painting that depicts an athletic nude male figure, with a silhouette of another...
Category
2010s Surrealist Nude Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Red Rose, Painting, Oil on Canvas
By Stephen Haws
Located in Yardley, PA
"Red Rose" is a painting about wondering if you are actually of value. The red rose is about beauty that is there but not always recognized or perceived. We are all beautiful even if...
Category
2010s Romantic Paintings
Materials
Oil
So Long / oil on wood - contemporary portrait woman red and bold
By Chikako Okada
Located in Burlingame, CA
'So Long' a mysterious and fascinating portrayal of a young women standing inside of a ring of red flowers, in front of a heavy velvet gold and red drape, that is falling on either ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wood, Oil
