Lot 29 Dα

In 1895 in the Dutch town of Zandvoort on the North Sea, Max Liebermann created a number of small-format oil studies in connection with the large painting “Kartoffelbuddler in den Dünen von Zandvoort” (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, see Eberle 1895/10). The present motif is additionally reminiscent of the famous composition “Alte Frau mit Ziegen” from 1890 (now in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, see Eberle 1890/1).
Atmospherically concentrated in an appealing manner, the present study combines thematic elements of both paintings: beneath an expansive pale-blue sky, the figures of two farmers with large pack baskets move along a narrow, sandy path through the dunes and two black-and-white spotted goats graze in the foreground. The lively brushstroke evokes the wind caressing the landscape of grassy dunes; we almost believe we can feel the fresh sea air. What now presents itself to viewers as a wonderfully light and airy impression meant a process of demanding and intensive work for Liebermann: “In the landscape you can see what a painter is worth as an artist. Landscape painting is the hardest art.” (cited in Holly Richardson, in: Max Liebermann, Der Realist und die Phantasie, exhib. cat. Frankfurt/Leipzig 1997, p. 31).