Harry Fenn Art

Gustav Melcher (German, 1898-?) Segelschiffe vor Venedig - Sailing ships off Venice • India ink, water colour wash • Visible image ca. 11.5 x 18 cm • Glased Frame ca. 20 x 25 cm • Verso various inscriptions • Signed lower right Gustav Melcher was a German painter and a pioneer in film, film criticism and film theory and created this clever little picture of the skyline of Venice with various vessels. Going by the various inscriptions an the backing paper, this drawing was made in 1918 when Gustav was twenty years old and passed on three years later to Gertrud Melcher on the 1. 2. 1921. I have no reasons to doubt this information. The small drawing is still in its unopened frame, so maybe there is more information to be discovered , however this will be the privilege of the next owner. The picture also has retained its original antique frame – note that it has lost over the years various sections of the gesso decoration. The very precisely executed drawing is most enjoyable to look at and doing so, remember you are looking through the eyes of a young man, who saw this foreign sea cape over a century ago. Thank you for your interest and please note, that I offer free worldwide shipping on all my items. Gustav Melcher began his studies at the Düsseldorfer Kunstakademie under Peter Janssen and Eduard von Gebhardt. Originaly he was interested in figurative and portrait painting, but after time he decided to pursue the depiction of land- and marinescapes. Durin his studies the young artist undertook trips to visit England, Scotland, Belgium and France and he joined the artist society Malkasten. It was in those days he would hold speeches to his colleges about this new invention called ‘Kintopp’ – Melcher was a great advocate of the moving pictures...

Jolanta Johnsson, experienced Polish artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, PhD of fine arts, university teacher. She currently lives in Sweden. This is how she writes about the drawing: "The sunset today is extraordinary. As the sun sets, its round disc descends towards the horizon to eventually disappear behind it completely. This is when it changes colors, which become more and more intense. This spectacle is always interesting, each time different. No two sunsets are the same. One day it was so beautiful that it inspired me to make this drawing. That day was today, so I titled it Sunset Today. It is a symbolic title. It acts as a kind of reminder – the sun will also be set today. Today is also the day to watch the sun wander over the horizon. Don’t miss it! When we are surrounded by trees, the horizon line is collapsed. As the sun sets, it hides in their branches. Then, for a moment, the trees look as if they are on fire embracing the fiery sun ball...

This Ink and watercolour masterpiece is featured in Bloomsbury's 2011 publication, showcasing the artist's sketchbook (Note 1). Created en plein air, Shizico Yi painted this piece in...

Jolanta Johnsson, experienced Polish artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, PhD of fine arts, university teacher. She currently lives in Sweden. This is how she writ...

Alfred Paul Emil Etienne Dumont (Swiss, * 13. Juni 1828 in Baulmes; † 7th August 1894 in Geneva) Vue de Cerlier au lac de Bienne avec Île Saint-Pierre (Figures at an open fire, wit...

'Fall Fog, Approaching'. Contemporary landscape painting, Cornwall Original Artwork, Unframed _________________ Heavy skies moving in over the autumnal landscape of West Cornwall: a ...

Pastel or Tempera on paper. Judaica Shtetl scene of village. Anatoli Lwowitch Kaplan was a Russian painter, sculptor and printmaker, whose works often reflect his Jewish origins. h...

Inscribed “159” in the upper right Provenance: (Possibly) The Van Goyen sketchbook which in 1845 belonged to Andrew Geddes, A.R.A. (1783-1844), London; his sale, Christie's, London,...

Xanthus Russell Smith (American, 1839-1929) Army Transport "Neptune" Ink on bristol board, 9 x 14 1/4 inches Framed: 16 x 22 (aprox.) Signed at lower left: "X.S.” Inscribed: (on pap...

This landscape, masterfully executed in pen and wash by Louis-Jean Desprez around 1779, probably represents a view of the Roman countryside. The treatment of the trees is very similar to that of two engravings which Desprez executed in Rome, The Island of Cythera and The Temple of Love. 1. Louis-Jean Desprez, a cosmopolitan life between Italy and Sweden Born in Auxerre in 1743, Louis-Jean Desprez probably began his apprenticeship with the engraver Charles-Nicolas Cochin...

Ink, pen & pigment on paper

No Dutch draughtsman ever captured the atmosphere of the rural countryside of Holland with the same atmospheric and engaging simplicity that Van Goyen achieved in drawings such as this. Indeed, his landscapes were seminal in the development of the genre. The present sketch conveys a striking sense of movement within the natural landscape, conveyed by the deftly applied strokes of chalk, from which the artist’s hand can be sensed. The composition is characteristic of his work, with the low horizon affording significance to the broad sky and the soaring birds within. This feeling of windswept motion powerfully evokes the expansive Dutch farmland with which he was evidently preoccupied. 1. Jan van Goyen...