Wilhelm Kuhnert - The Tropical Night at the River - image-1

Lot 1692 Dα

Wilhelm Kuhnert - The Tropical Night at the River

Auction 1057 - overview Cologne
14.11.2015, 11:00 - Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Drawings
Estimate: 25.000 € - 30.000 €

Wilhelm Kuhnert

The Tropical Night at the River

Oil on cardboard. 37.5 x 44.5 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: Wilh. Kuhnert 1918.

Entitled and inscribed to the reverse by an unknown hand “Tropennacht” and “Wilh. Kuhnert“.
This work, dated 1918, shows a herd of zebra crossing a river by cover of darkness. Wilhelm Kuhnert is primarily known for his depictions of lions in the wilderness, which use a bright, vivid palette of brown and ochre hues. In the present work he also proves himself to be a master of the nocturne, capturing the pale moonlight which illuminates the scene in finely nuanced blue tones. According to Grettmann-Werner, the painting was made as the basis for an illustration in Kuhnert's book “Im Lande meiner Modelle” (In the Land of my Models), which was published by Klinkhardt & Biermann in 1918. However, despite documented amendments made by the artist, the image was still too dark to be included in the book, and he instead made a lithograph which was printed on page 251. The artist also had a photograph made of the work showing the original version in which the bright highlights and sharp edges are noticeably lacking.