ZÜGEL, HEINRICH VON1850 Murrhardt - 1941 Munich


Title: Sheep at the Stable Door.
Date: 1870s.
Technique: Oil on wood.
Measurement: 33,5 x 52cm.
Notation: Signed lower right: "H. Zügel / München".
Frame: Framed.
Verso:
On the panel stamp of a panel maker Oberndorfer from Munich.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The extensive oeuvre of Heinrich von Zügel, one of the most important German Impressionists, is characterised by the depiction of the rural environment and its farm animals and pets. Echoing his life as the son of a shepherd, the artist succeeds in capturing the hardships of everyday rural life on canvas in vivid detail. Heinrich von Zügel's talent for drawing had already attracted attention during his school years, and he began his artistic education in 1869 with two years of study at the Stuttgart Art School before the young artist moved to Munich. There he met the recognised animal painter Anton Braith, who became his mentor. Inspired by his travels to the Dutch and Belgian coasts, the artist devoted himself to open-air painting from the 1890s onwards. The detailed observation of animals in his early works gave way to an impressionistic, looser style of painting. Throughout his life, and certainly as a reminiscence of his childhood, sheep and cattle play a leading role in the artist's works.

In "Zwei Schwarzschecken mit Burschen in der Altrheinschwemme", Zügel focusses on the interaction between humans and animals crossing a ford. His endeavour to create an atmospheric depiction of his protagonists surrounded by air and light is clearly recognisable. The artist skilfully captures the reflection of the sun in the churning water, which contrasts with the dark colouring of the oxen's coats and the boy's clothing. With great sensitivity, he lends individual animals individual traits that reflect their character. The painter masterfully emphasises the materiality of the animals' fur through a gentle juxtaposition of tinted white, brown and red tones, which appear almost tangible in the play of light. Immersed in a delicate harmony of colours, Heinrich von Zügel captures the fleeting mood of a summer's day in the countryside on his canvas.