Lot 1583 Dα

Johann Ludwig Ernst Morgenstern, known as the “Old Morgenstern”, was founder of a renowned dynasty of painters and enjoyed great success with his characteristic Netherlandish style church interiors among his Frankfurt patrons. He was drawing master to Wolfgang von Goethe and was one of the artists whose works Goethe's father collected. This painting owes a great deal of its impact to the clever use of perspective, and presents a masterpiece in optics and colouring. Made in 1776, the year he became a master in Frankfurt, this piece is one of Morgenstern's most meticulously painted works, and its miniature-like fineness and attention to detail testify to his prowess. Paintings by this artist rarely achieved as fine a quality as in the present work.