Lot 2307 Dα

The gouache "Der Esel in der Bibliothek" (The Donkey in the Library), delicately coloured with pastel shades, was created around 1810 in connection with Tischbein's novel "Der Schwachmatikus und seine vier Brüder, der Sanguiniker, Cholerikus, Melancholikus und Phlegmatikus, nebst zwölf Vorstellungen zum Esel", in short "Donkey Story". Like many artists of his time, Johann H. W. Tischbein was not only a prolific painter, but was also active as a writer and illustrator. The first draft of his novel dates back to his stay in Naples, but it was not until he moved to Eutin in Holstein in 1809 that he was able to publish the novel together with its illustrations with the help of the writer Henriette Hermes. Although individual episodes have autobiographical features, the main character is not a self-portrait but a depiction of the talented but unsuccessful musician Nicolò Salo.
In this gouache, a zebra appears instead of the donkey, a "colourful donkey" according to the text. Following the fifth chapter of the novel, the young poet is depicted here with the prince's steward who - as his corpulence suggests - is only interested in worldly pleasures. The poet tries to explain to him the busts of Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth, the blind singer Homer and the winged Pythagoras. But in vain - the world fails to appreciate the values of the poets, philosophers and founders of religions and prefers to use the library as a stable for exotic animals. As in the entire Donkey novel, this is also the idea of the unrecognised genius.
An unfinished preliminary drawing and another version of the painting are housed in the Landesmuseum Oldenburg (inv. no. LMO 15.139 and inv. no. LMO 15.096).