Wilhelm Schütze - Blind Man's Buff - image-1

Lot 2347 Dα

Wilhelm Schütze - Blind Man's Buff

Auction 1197 - overview Cologne
21.05.2022, 14:30 - 19th Century
Estimate: 15.000 € - 20.000 €
Result: 15.000 € (incl. premium)

Wilhelm Schütze

Blind Man's Buff

Oil on canvas (relined). 91 x 130 cm.
Signed lower right: Wilh. Schütze. München.

Schütze was particularly fascinated by idyllic motifs. He specialised in charming depictions of peasant and courtly life. Even in populous works such as the present canvas, he still manages to imbue each figure with a distinct personality, expressed in their gestures and facial features. The faces and elegant clothing in this Rococo scene are softly modelled, inkeeping with its palatial surroundings. The girl in the pink dress and the blindfold steps tentatively forward in the hopes of catching one of her companions and making them the next "blind man". Meanwhile the others coax and goad her onwards, always making sure to be one step ahead. The game, which is observed with interest by various onlookers, was enjoyed by both children and adults in 18th century courtly circles.

Provenance

Probably exhibited at the Internationale Kunstausstellung, Munich, 1879. - Probably exhibited at the Allgemeine deutsche Kunstausstellung, Düsseldorf, 1880.- West German private ownership.

Literature

Probably: Boetticher, Friedrich von: Malerwerke des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, Dresden 1891-1901 (Nachdruck 1941), vol. II.2, p. 687, no. 6. ("Blindekuhspiel (Kinder in Rococotracht").