Lot 1568 Dα

Motifs from the Black Forest permeate Hans Thoma's entire oeuvre. He painted this subject especially frequently in the 1870s and 80s, creating works such as “Schwarzwaldbächlein” (exhibited in: Hans Thoma, Lebensbilder, Freiburg 1989, cat. no. 76 illus. p. 245, now in private ownership). Thoma also repeated his motifs from the Black Forest in later years, combining them with elements of other pieces. For example, he painted the “Schwarzwaldbächlein” motif again in 1905 (Thode p. 462). Alongside the stream and the slightly lowered viewpoint, both pieces include two trees in the left mid ground.
The present work, depicting a trout stream, is included in Thode's catalogue raisonné for Hans Thoma dated 1906. The dimensions and the foreground motifs are almost identical to the works of 1885 and 1905. Two parallel overpainted areas are noticeable on the left edge of the painting. An x-ray analysis of the work has shown that Thoma subsequently edited many of the motifs, especially the stream but also the trees, sky and background.