Friday, August 20, 2021

19 Works, July 13th. is Ferdinand Brütt's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #190

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
The Telltale, Study
Oil on paper. Drawn on wood
27 x 38.5 cm.
Private collection

Ferdinand Martin Cordt Brütt (13 July 1849, Hamburg - 6 November 1936, Bergen) was a German painter. He was a distant relative of the sculptor Adolf Brütt.

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Proclamation of France's Declaration of War against Prussia in 1870, c. 1882
Oil on canvas
46 x 68.5 cm
Private collection

The Franco-Prussian War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to restore its dominant position in continental Europe, which it had lost following Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to draw four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—to join the North German Confederation; other historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. None, however, dispute that Bismarck likely recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole. More on the Franco-Prussian War

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
On the Stock Exchange, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
121 x 155 cm
Private collection

According to the concept of the “  Sonderweg  ”, a term which seems to have been coined by the historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler. Wilhelminian Germany would have modernized without becoming democratized, unlike countries like France , Great Britain or the United States - Karl Marx speaking of "German misery" to designate the attitude of a German bourgeoisie which prefers to compromise with the land aristocracy and the princes rather than ally with the people to free the nation from moral and political obstacles inherited from the past. More on this painting

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Before the judges
Oil on canvas
80 x 115 cm
Private collection

This picture is one of a series of court pictures that Brütt painted in the 1890s, including the large painting "The Hour of Decision in the Courtroom" (100 x 140 cm) from 1892, which has been in the holdings since it was acquired in the Glass Palace exhibition of the same year belongs to the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. The court pictures go back to Brütts activity as a jury member and are therefore well observed contemporary documents. But his interest is also directed towards purely artistic questions. More on this painting

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
SCHWERE WAHL (PRIMARY VOTER)
Oil on canvas
58 x 88 cm.
Private collection

The present picture is a study for the painting “Schwere Wahl”, dated 1886, which the Städtische Galerie Magdeburg acquired just one year after its creation (cf. exhibition catalog “Ferdinand Brütt 1849-1936. Story and Impression”. Since this painting has been lost since the Second World War, our study is of particular importance for this subject. Compared to the executed painting, the study shows some deviations. The slightly bent man on the left edge of the study was omitted, the ceiling chandelier was replaced with a more modern version and the faces and gestures of the figures also underwent some changes. More on this painting

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Schwere Stunden/ Hard hours
Oil on canvas laid on canvas
62 x 51 cm. (24.4 x 20.1 in.)
Private collection

The painting was created around 1883 when Brütt was working at the Düsseldorf Academy. The traditional title "Schwere Stunden" indicates its content, but without it being clearly expressed in the picture itself. It is probably a doctor's visit to the sick and his frightening information given to a wife and mother. The depicted people, dressed in the style of the time, are protagonists of the Wilhelmine bourgeoisie. It is precisely here that Brütt made a significant contribution as a porter of culture with his urban bourgeois genre painting. As in the Netherlands in the 17th century, the emancipated and strengthened bourgeoisie created an image culture in Germany after the founding of the empire in 1871, in which their own living environment was elevated to the subject of images in happy as well as in difficult moments. More on this painting

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Study for the painting "At the emigration agents', c.1887
Oil on canvas
40 × 50cm.
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Konzert
Oil on canvas
45 x 54 cm. (17.7 x 21.3 in.)
Private collection

"Concert" is dated to around 1884. Accordingly, it was created in the Düsseldorf time. This is also supported by the interior in the style of the 18th century, which is not characteristic of the Frankfurt area and could perhaps represent a hall from Benrath Palace. The sketchy execution with its free treatment of light and color, the modern, brisk painting with broad brushstrokes assumes knowledge of French Impressionism and reveals a painter at the height of his time. More on this painting

He took his first art lessons at the Hamburg School of Applied Arts. He transferred to the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School in 1870, where his teachers were Albert Baur, Karl Gussow and the history painter Ferdinand Pauwels. Baur would be particularly influential in forming Brütt's mature style.

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
At the station
Oil on canvas
94.6 x 133.4 cm. (37.2 x 52.5 in.)
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Rest of the travelers , c. 1900
Oil on canvas
42 cm × 58 cm
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Durch die Nacht/ Through the night
Oil on canvas
60,6 x 76 cm
Private collection

When Baur accepted a professorship at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Brütt went with him and became a specialist in painting courtroom scenes. He was able to draw from his own experiences, having spent quite a bit of time on jury duty, developing the genre based on earlier work by Louis Gallait and Hendrik Leys.

Attributed to Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Road , VI - c. 1920
Watercolor
31 x 22 cm
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Heathland , c. 1920
Watercolor heightened with white
23.8 x 32.6 cm. (9.4 x 12.8 in.)
Private collection

Heathland is the name given to wide open landscapes dominated by low-growing shrubs, such as gorse, heather and the heathland grasses that give it its name. Heathland has only a few trees and no herbaceous plants.

Heathlands are artificially created habitats. Most heathlands are thought to date from the Bronze Age some 3000 years ago. More on Heathland

Brütt, Ferdinand, 1849–1936
Garden in Winter, c.1915
Oil on canvas
39.2 x 27.8 cm.
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Brütts daughters reading
Oil on canvas on hardboard
43 x 33 cm,
I have no further description, at this time

In 1889, he took an extended study trip to Italy where he found himself less inspired by the "Old Masters" than he was by the landscapes. This prompted further trips to the Alps and the North Sea. In 1893, he was appointed a Royal Prussian Professor.

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Hammonia - An Allegory of the City of Hamburg
Oil on canvas
57 x 162 cm. (22.4 x 63.8 in.)
Private collection

Hammonia is the female personification of Hamburg.

The figure of Hammonia as symbol of Hamburg first appears in art and literature in the 18th century. Up until the Protestant Reformation, the city's patroness had been the Virgin Mary.

A tall and beautiful goddess who watches over Hamburg, she is usually shown wearing a crown in the form of a city wall surmounted by towers; she may also hold the city's coat of arms, a ship's anchor, etc. She is said to represent the Hanseatic values of Hamburg: freedom, peace, prosperity, harmony, welfare and trade. More on Hammonia

The present lot may well be the piece the painter used to demonstrate his skill when, in 1899, he applied for the commission to decorate the ballroom of the city hall in Hamburg. Brütt also painted two smaller studies on the same subject (See below). The relaxed and direct style of painting indicates Brütt’s shift towards the modern. More on this painting

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Hammonia - An Allegory of the City of Hamburg
Oil on canvas
58 x 91 cm. (22.8 x 35.8 in.)
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Hammonia (Studie) , ca. 1899
Oil on canvas
58 x 90 cm. (22.8 x 35.4 in.)
Private collection

Ferdinand Brütt (1849-1936)
Gartenfest, c. 1900
Oil on canvas
61.5 x 80 cm
Private collection

The present painting shows a park landscape in Wilhelmsthal, which repeatedly serves as a motif in Brütt's oeuvres. (cf. eg. "The blind violinist, 1882 or " Park in Wilhelmsthal with a Jesuit "around 1883)

In 1898, his friend Anton Burger invited him to stay at the Kronberger Artists' Colony in Kronberg im Taunus. He lived and worked there until 1920. He executed several municipal commissions in Frankfurt from 1905 to 1913, including several large wall and ceiling decorations for various public buildings and designs for the Bürgersaale (Civic Hall) in the Rathaus. In 1920, he went to live with his son, a District Court Councillor, in Bergen.

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
Church Interior Genre Scene
Oil on Panel
11.75" high x 8.75" wide
Private collection

Ferdinand Brutt (German, 1849–1936)
CARDINAL DESCENDING STAIRS, c. 1879
Oil on canvas
height 22.0" — 55.9cm, width 16.0" — 40.6cm
Private collection

His style may generally be described as impressionistic, although he preferred scenes with large crowds in urban or indoor settings. His initial phase extended through the 1880s, when he developed an interest in more subtle displays of light and color. After 1902, he concentrated on large landscapes. More on Ferdinand Brütt




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06 Works, October 27h. is Sigrid Hjertén's day, her story, illustrated with footnotes #259

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