Hans Thoma
Uncle Ludwig Maier
Oil on canvas (relined). 59.5 x 50.5 cm.
Monogrammed and dated lower left: HTh 1898.
With a label from the collection of Georg Schäfer to the reverse.
Hans Thoma already depicted his uncle Ludwig Maier in 1879 in a drawing today kept in the Kupferstichkabinett of the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. This portrait in oils was made almost 20 years later in the summer of 1898 when Thoma was living in Bernau. The artist's uncle has here aged considerably in comparison to the earlier work. "Thoma has taken great care in depicting the sitter's features. The fine brushstrokes, careful underdrawing, smooth surface and psychological depth are all reminiscent of the work of Holbein, which Thoma studied in depth that summer." (exhib. cat. Schweinfurt 1989, p. 124).
Provenance
Düsseldorf art market. - Collection of Dr. Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt. - Christie's, Düsseldorf, „Gemälde aus der Sammlung Dr. Georg Schäfer“, 31.1.2000, lot 187. - Sotheby's, London, 13.6.2006, lot 68. – Private collection, Europe.
Literature
Exhib.cat. „Hans Thoma 1839-1924. Gemälde und Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung Georg Schäfer Schweinfurt“, Schweinfurt 1989, p. 124f, no. 44 (illus.).
Exhibitions
Hans Thoma 1839-1924. Gemälde und Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung Georg Schäfer Schweinfurt, Altes Rathaus der Stadt Schweinfurt, 21.10.-26.11.1989, Städtische Kunstsammlungen Augsburg, 9.12.1989-4.2.1990, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 17.2.-8.4.1990, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, 16.4.-27.5.1990, no. 44.