Lot 661 R

Another painting with the same motif exists, "Interieur I (Mein Speisezimmer)" (Interior I, My Dining Room), dated to circa 1914, with painted figures in the background (cf. Carl Moll (1861-1945), exhib. cat. Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Wechselausstellung der Österreichischen Galerie Belvedere, ed. by G. Tobias Natter and Gerbert Frodl, Salzburg 1998, cat. no. 55 with colour illus. and front cover illus.)

Rau Collection for UNICEF

The dining room, that gave this painting its name, consists of two parts, separated by a wide-open sliding door. At the back of the room we can see windows with glazing bars letting in the sunlight which illuminates a lavishly laid table in the foreground. The elongated room, its elegant furnishings and the valuable tableware indicate that this is a prosperous middle-class household. The backlight is refracted in the cut wine and water glasses and in the slender vases, while a small number of paste-like brush strokes have lit up the white plates and the silver surfaces of the serviette rings and the cutlery. The festive character of the forthcoming meal is further emphasised by the lush arrangements of flowers and fruit.

The aesthetic pleasure of a beautifully set table recurs frequently in Carl Moll's oeuvre and can be found in numerous variations. This popular motif allowed the painter to make good use of his technical skills in the treatment of details, as the reflections of the light on different textures and his foreshortening of perspective. At the same time, the painting illustrates his love of a beautiful still life, unspoiled and expressing a joyful expectation of a festive dinner party.

Around 1900 Carl Moll created several other luxurious tables in his paintings “Festliche Tafel” (private collection) and “Vor dem Dinner” (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Neuerer Meister). We can see endless rows of tableware unfolding as well as sumptuous flower decorations, illuminated in all their magnificence by wall lamps and chandeliers.

Carl Moll was an important celebrity in the Viennese art scene around 1900. He was successful not only as a painter but also as an advocate of modern art, as a co-founder of the Viennese Secession and the Moderne Galerie (now Österreichische Galerie Belevedere) and as a gallery owner.