Leeke, Ferdinand, 1859 Burg/Magdeburg - 1923 Nuremberg
Dancing nymphs, c. 1923/25
Oil on canvas
86 x 134cm
Private collection
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Bacchante
Oil on canvas
84 x 50.5 cm
Private collection
In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones." Maenads were known as Bassarids, Bacchae or Bacchantes in Roman mythology, after the penchant of the equivalent Roman god, Bacchus, to wear a bassaris or fox-skin.
Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication. During these rites, the maenads would dress in fawn skins and carry a thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy or vine leaves and tipped with a pine cone. They would weave ivy-wreaths around their heads or wear a bull helmet in honor of their god, and often handle or wear snakes. More Bacchante
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
The Amazonian warrior, c. 1906
Oil on canvas
90 x 54.5 cm
Private collection
In Greek mythology, the Amazons were a race of woman warriors.
The legendary Amazons were thought to have lived in Pontus, which is part of modern-day Turkey near the southern shore of the Black Sea. There they formed an independent kingdom under the government of a queen named Hippolyta or Hippolyte. This area is known to have been occupied in the Late Bronze Age by a transhumant group known to the Hittites as the Kaŝka; though they were not directly known to Greeks, modern archaeologists have determined that they finally defeated their enemies, the Hittites, about 1200 BC. According to Plutarch, the Amazons lived in and about the Don river, which the Greeks called the Tanais; but which was called by the Scythians the "Amazon". The Amazons later moved to Terme on the River Thermodon, northern Turkey. More on the Amazons
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
The Bust
Oil on canvas
88 x 134 cm
Private collection
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
The Mermaid and the Satyr, c. 1917
Oil on canvas
39 x 53.1 in. / 99 x 135 cm
Private collection
A mermaid is a marine creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria. Mermaids can be benevolent or beneficent.
In Greek mythology, a satyr is the member of a troop of ithyphallic male companions of Dionysus; they usually have horse-like ears and tails, as well as permanent, exaggerated erections. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, in 6th-century BC black-figure pottery, human legs are the most common. The faun is a similar woodland-dwelling creature from Roman mythology, which had the body of a man, but the legs, horns, and tail of a goat. In myths, both are often associated with pipe-playing. Greek-speaking Romans often used the Greek term saturos when referring to the Latin faunus, and eventually syncretized the two (the female “Satyresses” were a later invention of poets). They are also known for their focus on sexual desires. They were characterized by the desire to have sexual intercourse with as many women as possible, known as satyriasis. More on satyr
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Snow White , circa 1890
Oil on panel
26.3 x 35 cm (10.3 x 13.7 in)
Private collection
Snow White is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales and numbered as Tale 53.
The fairy tale features such elements as the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the characters of the Evil Queen and the Seven Dwarfs. More on Snow White
Leeke received his formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Johann Caspar Herterich and Sándor Liezen-Mayer, a genre and historical painter, and with Alexander von Wagner (1838-1919), a Hungarian genre and landscape painter. Leeke primarily painted portraits and traditional German genre paintings
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Undine charms the knight , c. 1916
Oil on wood
25.5 x 36 cm
Private collection
Undines are almost invariably depicted as being female, which is consistent with the ancient idea that water is a female element. They are usually found in forest pools and waterfalls, and their beautiful singing voices are sometimes heard over the sound of water. The group contains many species, including nereides, limnads, naiades, mermaids and potamides.
What undines lack, compared to humans, is a soul. Marriage with a human shortens their lives on Earth, but earns them an immortal human soul.
Undine is a fairytale novella (Erzählung) by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué in which Undine, a water spirit, marries a knight named Huldebrand in order to gain a soul. It is an early German romance, which has been translated into English and other languages. More on Undines
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Laurin, the King of the Dwarfs, at the Court of Dietrich von Bern
Oil on canvas
79 x 100 cm
Private collection
Similde was the beautiful daughter of the “King on the River Etsch.” One day, he felt that the time had come to marry off the girl. So he invited all of the noblemen in the neighboring lands, but he did not invite Laurin. Because of this, Laurin decided to wear his magic Invisibility Cape and attend without being detected. But as he caught sight of Similde, he immediately fell in love with her. So he grabbed her, leaped onto his horse, and galloped away... More on Laurin, the King of the Dwarfs
Around 1889 Siegfried Wagner, son of the composer Richard Wagner, commissioned Leeke to paint a series based on ten different operas written by his father (See below). These paintings were then reproduced as posters via six-color photogravure, which was a new and revolutionary process at the time.
Around 1889 Siegfried Wagner, son of the composer Richard Wagner, commissioned Leeke to paint a series based on ten different operas written by his father (See below). These paintings were then reproduced as posters via six-color photogravure, which was a new and revolutionary process at the time.
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Three daughters of Ren Woglind, Wellgund and Flosshild ensnare Siegfried , c. 1908
Oil on canvas
122 x 163 cm
Private collection
The Rhinemaidens are the three water-nymphs who appear in Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Their individual names are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde (Floßhilde), although they are generally treated as a single entity and they act together accordingly.
The Rhinemaidens are the first and the last characters seen in the four-opera cycle, appearing both in the opening scene of Das Rheingold, and in the final climactic spectacle of Götterdämmerung, when they rise from the Rhine waters to reclaim the ring from Brünnhilde's ashes.
Götterdämmerung, Act 3 Scene 1. In a remote wooded valley Siegfried's horn is heard, and he soon appears, having lost his way while hunting. The maidens greet him with their old playfulness and offer to help him, for the price of the ring on his finger. After a flirtatious exchange, Siegfried offers, apparently sincerely, to give them the ring. But instead of wisely simply accepting his offer, the mood of the naive, formerly flirtatious Rhinemaidens suddenly becomes solemn: they warn Siegfried he will be killed that very day unless he delivers the ring to them. More on this painting
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Scene from Richard Wagner’s “Valkyrie”
Oil on canvas
135 x 100 cm
Private collection
Exhausted Siegmund enters Hunding’s house at the beginning of Act 1 of The Valkyrie, having no idea that he will come upon his sister there: Sieglinde was abducted as an infant and given in marriage to Hunding. She knows little of her family background and does not initially recognize her twin brother.
When Hunding returns home he discovers the enemy whom he has just wanted to fight in battle. However, he is obliged to offer hospitality for one night, even to his enemy, though he challenges Siegmund to a duel the next day.
Sieglinde feels herself increasingly drawn to the stranger and administers a sleeping potion to her husband. She tries to indicate to Siegmund the trunk of an ash tree in which a sword has been plunged, which, up till now, no-one has been able to pull out.
Suddenly the firelight reveals to him a place in the ash tree’s trunk and Sieglinde enters and tells him about the wondrous sword. They look at each other, recognise that they are twins, and – exhilarated by the mild spring night – become inflamed with passionate fervour.
Act 1, Scene 3, After he has succeeded in claiming the sword, Siegmund ecstatically stretches his arms out to Sieglinde.
The incestuous and passionate entanglement in Act 1 culminates with these famous closing words. What follows on the stage – and in Leeke’s painting – is omitted and left to the audience’s imagination. Wagner’s final stage directions are also to be understood in this sense: Siegmund draws her to him with raging ardour; she sinks with a cry onto his breast. The curtain falls quickly. More on this painting
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. More on the Valkyrie
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, c. 1908
Richard Wagner, Götterdämmerung, Act I
Oil on canvas
100 x 120 cm
Private collection
Siegfried’s Rhine journey takes place almost at the beginning of Götterdämmerung and follows the first scene, in which the dragon slayer Siegfried and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde could still enjoy their love for each other unadulterated. Brünnhilde receives the Ring of the Nibelung from Siegfried and gives him her faithful steed Grane in return. They bid each other farewell, and Siegfried sets off on new adventures. The serene musical mood of Siegfried’s Rhine journey conveys this promising excitement and anticipation of new adventures. At the same time, it also forms the prelude to subsequent complications. These two aspects – anticipation and the suggestion of further action – can also be found in the present lot. Siegfried, beaming with youth and strength, sets off on a boat across the Rhine with the horse, Grane. The costume and the carving on the boat display Nordic ornaments and refer to the origin of the myth. The horse nuzzles his head faithfully on the hero’s shoulder, but in the worried look that the animal casts at the viewer, there seems to be a bleak premonition. More on this painting
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
Wotan and Brünnhilde, c. 1930
Oil on canvas
146 x 107 cm
Private collection
Ferdinand Leeke (1859–1937)
The warrior's return
Oil on canvas
59½ x 46 in. (151.1 x 116.8 cm.)
Private collection
Ferdinand Leeke
A Viking's game
Oil on canvas
177 x 150 cm.
Private collection
The Norse people delighted in games and sports. Both indoor board games and outdoor sporting competitions appear to have been regular leisure time activities, based on both saga literature and archaeological evidence.
Ferdinand Leeke died in 1923 in Nuremberg, Germany. More on Ferdinand Leeke
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