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Drawings and water colours > 1800 > "The Greek amphitheater at Taormina" and "The Phlegraean Fields seen from Camaldoli with Procida and Ischia", pair of watercolors on cardboard, Max Schmidt (Berlin 1818 - Konigsberg 1901), mid 19th ce
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| "The Greek amphitheater at Taormina" and "The Phlegraean Fields seen from Camaldoli with Procida and Ischia", pair of watercolors on cardboard, Max Schmidt (Berlin 1818 - Konigsberg 1901), mid 19th ce | Description: Max Schmidt was mainly a genre painter, focusing on landscapes and buildings, producing a body of watercolors and drawings.
A student of Karl Joseph Begas, Schmidt studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin.
He made his first trip to the Orient between 1843 and 1844. Subsequently, during trips in 1847 and 1853, he visited southern Germany, Italy, the Ionian islands and Provence.
In the years 1861 to 1870, he traveled widely, visiting Turkey, Palestine, Egypt and returning to the Ionian islands, to Italy and to England.
Having returned to Germany, he participated in the decoration of the Egyptian courtyard and the Grecian rooms at the "New Museum" in Berlin.
In 1868, he was appointed as a tutor at the Weimar School of Fine Arts. In 1872, he was called upon to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts at Konigsberg, where he would go on to become Rector in 1890 - a position he was to hold until his death.
He contributed to numerous exhibitions in Vienna and Berlin, where he won a plethora of medals.
Some of his works are conserved at museums in Cologne and Konigsberg.
It is worth noting, in the watercolors we have for sale, the colorful depiction of the Mediterranean light, achieved through intense use of azure.
The painter's rapid, vibrant touch imbues both landscapes with movement and depth. The scenes were typical of the exotic destinations on the "Grand Tour".
The following article, taken from the "Frankfurter Allgemeine" newspaper of January 11, 1983 gives some idea of Schmidt's standing as a painter:
"It seems that nowadays, works by 19th-century genre painters sell particularly well when their subject matter depicts the Orient, and especially well when they were German and named Schmidt - at the very least, this is what emerges from the latest valuations by London-based auction-houses on paintings of this type.
Christies' Auction House offered up 46 delicate watercolors by the German landscape painter Max Schmidt (1818-1901), which were the fruits of his travels through Turkey, Palestine, Syria and Egypt. While the estimates averaged below £1000, the works fetched £70,000 (280,000DM at the current exchange rate)."
| | Age: Mid 19th century. | | Dimensions: Height 43.5cm x 60cm (17.12 inches x 23.62 inches). | | Price: Sold | | Item n°: |
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