Friday, December 17, 2021

29 Works, December 14th. is Károly Lotz's day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #250

Attributed to Karoly Lotz
Man and Woman
Oil on board
7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
Private collection

Lotz Károly Antal Pál, or Karl Anton Paul Lotz (16 December 1833 – 13 October 1904) was a German-Hungarian painter.

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Stud in a Thunderstorm, c. 1862
Oil on canvas
126,5 x 191,5 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

This is a herd of mares, foals and young horses which are traditionally kept on the Hungarian puszta, and belonging to one of the many studs. The herdsman is usually mounted, but here he is without a horse. His dog stays close to him. Two groups of horses gather around the waterpump. On the background at the right, a troika is arriving, maybe to pick up the herdsman. 
More on this painting

On returning home from Vienna where he had studied, the young Lotz looked at the Hungarian landscape and people with a fresh eye. His observations were way ahead of his age. Although his paintings depicting the landscape of the Great Hungarian Plains during a  storm were still rooted in Romanticism, their emotional charge, variegated compositional methods and, most of all, their realistic colours justified Lotz's personal ambitions. 

"Stud in a Thunderstorm", painted in 1862, is an excellent example of these qualities. His depiction of the clouds whirling in the depth of the space, his felicitous rendering of the horses and his ability to capture the feeling and unique world of the people of the flatlands could not be matched by any of his contemporaries. More on this painting

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Storm (Storm in the Puszta), circa 1862
Oil on cardboard
Height: 16 cm (6.2 in); Width: 24 cm (9.4 in)
Private collection

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Twilight, c. 1870
Oil on canvas
47,5 x 61 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Lotz studied in Vienna under Karl Rahl and his works show the effect of the great Renaissance masters, Raphael in particular. In the early phase of his art he did some significant representations of native scenery such as the Great Hungarian Plain and the life of the peasants.

The setting sun hidden behind a cloud lights up the landscape of the plain, catching the shepherd and his herd in the foreground and the gleaming surface of the water. The bucolic atmosphere of landscape, the little cottage in the trees in the background and the silence of Nature preparing for rest give great intimacy to this painting by Lotz. More on this painting

Karoly Lotz
Resting shepherds
Oil on canvas
20x30 cm
Private collection

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Peasants Dancing, c. 1860
Oil on canvas
Height: 94.5 cm; Width: 125.5 cm
Hungarian National Gallery

Lotz was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany, the 7th and youngest surviving child of Wilhelm Christian Lotz and Antonia Höfflick. His father was a valet of Prince Gustav zu Hessen-Homburg at the time when the prince was representing Austria at the Congress of Vienna, which among other matters dealt with the House of Hessen-Homburg's rights of sovereignty over Hessen-Darmstadt. The sudden death of the young Baron von Sinclair, chargé d'affaires, forced W. C. Lotz temporarily into the rôle. While in Hungary in 1815 he made the acquaintance of the 13-year-old Antonie Hoefflich, whom he married three years later. She gave birth to 8 children, of whom Karl was the youngest.

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Hussar Officers at Camp, c. 1857
Oil on canvas
106 x 171 cm
Historical Picture Gallery, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest

In the center of the painting Count József Bethlen can be seen on the white horse. At his left Count István Esterházy holding his sword and Baron Frigyes Podmaniczky with cigar. Behind the white horse stands Count Dénes Almásy. More on this painting

Count József Bethlen became Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, supported by the Ottomans, led his Calvinist principality against the Habsburgs and their Catholic allies. More on Gabriel Bethlen

Count István Esterházy de Galántha was a member of the wealthy Hungarian Esterházy family, eldest son of Palatine Nicholas Esterházy.

His father received the title of Count in 1626 by Emperor-King Ferdinand II, therefore his descendants also could make use of title. Count István died in 1641, when his father was still alive. His younger brother Ladislaus became head of the family in 1645. More on Count István Esterházy

W. C. Lotz died in 1837 and Antonie moved the family to Budapest. Karl attended the Piaristengymnasium, where, although Calvinist, he was awarded a scholarship for his exceptional academic performance. He began his artistic career as a pupil of the Hofkapellmeister Destouches, then in the academy of the Venetian master Jakab Marastoni (1804–1860). Later he was a pupil of the historical painters Henrik Weber (1818–1866) in Budapest and Carl Rahl (1812–1865) in Vienna.
Karoly Lotz
Venus (Kornélia)
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Oil on cardboard
65 x 25 cm
Private collection

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Amor and Psyche, c. 1902
Oil on canvas
142 x 112 cm
Private collection

Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd Century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid, and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage. Although the only extended narrative from antiquity is that of Apuleius, Eros and Psyche appear in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC. The story's Neoplatonic elements and allusions to mystery religions accommodate multiple interpretations, and it has been analyzed as an allegory and in light of folktale, Märchen or fairy tale, and myth. More on Cupid and Psyche

Karoly Lotz
Temptation (Leda)
Oil on canvas
40 x 24 cm
Private collection

Leda, in Greek legend, usually believed to be the daughter of Thestius, king of Aetolia, and wife of Tyndareus, king of Lacedaemon. She was also believed to have been the mother (by Zeus, who had approached and seduced her in the form of a swan) of the other twin, Pollux, and of Helen, both of whom hatched from eggs. Variant legends gave divine parentage to both the twins and possibly also to Clytemnestra, with all three of them having hatched from the eggs of Leda, while yet other legends say that Leda bore the twins to her mortal husband, Tyndareus. Still other variants say that Leda may have hatched out Helen from an egg laid by the goddess Nemesis, who was similarly approached by Zeus in the form of a swan.The divine swan’s encounter with Leda was a subject depicted by both ancient Greek and Italian Renaissance artists; Leonardo da Vinci undertook a painting (now lost) of the theme, and Correggio’s Leda (c. 1530s) is a well-known treatment of the subject. More on Leda and The Swan

Karoly Lotz
Triumphant Neptune, c. 1892
Oil on canvas
75 x 176,5 cm
Private collection

Neptune is the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek tradition, Neptune is the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers preside over the realms of heaven, the earthly world, and the underworld. Salacia is his wife.

Depictions of Neptune in Roman mosaics, especially those in North Africa, were influenced by Hellenistic conventions. Neptune was likely associated with freshwater springs before the sea. Like Poseidon, Neptune was also worshipped by the Romans as a god of horses as Neptunus Equester (a patron of horse-racing). More on Neptune

Karoly Lotz
Niobe with her Children, c. 1884
Oil on canvas
78 x 47 cm
Private collection

This oil painting shows a mythological scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a study for a fresco in the auditorium of the Opera House in Budapest (1884). The depiction illustrates the dramatic killing of Niobe’s sons and daughters. The wife of the Theban king Amphion was so proud of her many children (seven sons and seven daughters ) that she dared to surpass the Titan Leto, whereupon Leto asked her son and daughter, Apollo and Arthemis , to kill the sons and daughters of Niobe with bow and arrow in one day. In the opera literature, the subject of Niobe is often quoted, which testifies to the connection of the present study. In his mythological topics, Károly Lotz oriented to the masters of the Venetian Baroque, such as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Thus, it is primarily the dramatizing baroque language that Lotz overtook in his works. More on this painting

Karoly Lotz
Venus and Cupid
Oil on wood
20*12 cm
Private collection

Venus and Love/ Venus and Cupid. Different tales exist about the origin of Venus and Cupid. Some say that Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, had a love affair with Mars, the god of war. Out of this relationship, Cupid was born. 

Cupid has attributes from both of his parents. Like his mother he is considered to be the god of love, or more precisely, the god of falling in love. He is portrayed as an innocent little child with bow and arrows. He shoots arrows to the heart, and awakening a love that you’re powerless to resist.

Venus and Cupid are often shown in intimate poses, reflecting the unique love between mother and child. More on Venus and Love

Karoly Lotz
Thalia, c. 1880
Oil, canvas
180x108 cm 
Private collection

In Greek mythology, a Charis or Grace is one of three or more minor goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility, together known as the Charites or Graces. The usual list, from youngest to oldest is Aglaea ("Splendor"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer"). In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces". In some variants, Charis was one of the Graces and was not the singular form of their name.

The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aegle. Other possible names of their mother by Zeus are Eurydome, Eurymedousa, and Euanthe. Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite. The Charites were also associated with the Greek underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries.

The river Cephissus near Delphi was sacred to them. More Three Graces

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Sappho (Contemplation), circa 1880
Oil on canvas
Height: 94 cm (37 in); Width: 74 cm (29.1 in)
Private collection

Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho's poetry was lyric poetry, and she is best known for her poems about love. 

Little is known of Sappho's life. She was from a wealthy family from Lesbos. Ancient sources say that she had three brothers; the names of two of them are mentioned in the Brothers Poem discovered in 2014. She was exiled to Sicily around 600 BC, and may have continued to work until around 570.

Sappho's poetry was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, and she was among the nine lyric poets deemed major by scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. Today, Sappho's poetry is still considered extraordinary, and her works have continued to influence other writers up until the modern day. Outside of academic circles, she is perhaps best known as a symbol of same-sex desire, particularly between women.  More on Sappho

Károly Lotz Homburg von der Höhe Lotz
The Muse
Oil on wood
21 × 14.8 cm
Private collection

Muse, in Greco-Roman religion and mythology, any of a group of sister goddesses of obscure but ancient origin, in Boeotia, Greece. They were born in Pieria, at the foot of Mount Olympus. Very little is known of their cult, but they had a festival every four years at Thespiae. They probably were originally the patron goddesses of poets, although later their range was extended to include all liberal arts and sciences—hence, their connection with such institutions as the Museum (Mouseion, seat of the Muses) at Alexandria, Egypt. There were nine Muses as early as Homer’s Odyssey, and Homer invokes either a Muse or the Muses collectively from time to time. More on Muses

Together with Rahl he worked on numerous commissions. Later he started on his own original works, first as a romantic landscape artist in scenes of the Alföld (the Hungarian lowland plain), and then as a creator of monumental murals and frescos in the style of the Venetian master Tiepolo.

Károly Lotz (Hungarian, 1833–1904)
Outlaw
Oil on board
20.5 x 11.5 cm. (8.1 x 4.5 in.)
Private collection

Károly Lotz (Hungarian, 1833–1904)
Outlaws
Oil on canvas
28 x 41 cm. (11 x 16.1 in.)
Private collection

Károly Lotz Homburg von der Höhe Lotz
Galloping Outlaw, c. 1857
Oil on canvas
Height: 58.0 cm; Width: 92.0 cm
Hungarian National Gallery 


After various works in Budapest he became active in Vienna. He laid out plans for a grandiose palace, and completed murals commissioned by the Abbot of Tihany Abbey for his abbey church on the shore of Lake Balaton. He became known for his portraits and nudes, for which both his wife and his daughters posed. Lotz found married bliss only at the age of 58, when he married the widow Jacoboy, the former wife of his brother Paul Johann Heinrich, who had died in 1828. From then on he signed his works Károly Jacoboy-Lotz.

Károly Lotz, (1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Portrait of Kornélia Lotz, c. 1890s
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Oil on canvas
68,5 x 55,5 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Madonna with Kornélia Lotz
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Oil on wood
10 x 17 cm
Private collection

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Kornélia Lotz
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Oil on cardboard
Height: 20 cm (7.8 in); Width: 54 cm (21.2 in)
Private collection

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Cornelia Lotz in Black, c. 1896
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Oil on canvas
Height: 163.8 cm (64.4 in); Width: 82 cm (32.2 in)
Hungarian National Gallery



Károly Lotz
Károly Lotz, Portrait of Kornélia Lotz with Golden Locket, c. 1900s
Kornélia Lotz was the artist's wife
Watercolor
186 × 132 mm
Szépművészeti Múzeum

Károly Lotz  (1833–1904)
Spring (Portrait of Ilona K. Lippich), c. 1894
Daughter of Gusztáv Koronghy Lippich, head of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, wife of János Szalay from Almás
Oil on canvas
Height: 113 cm (44.4 in); Width: 81.5 cm (32 in)
Hungarian National Gallery

In 1882 Lotz was appointed Professor at various art academies in Budapest, and in 1885 he became dean of a newly established department for women painters. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Pictorial Arts in Vienna.

Lotz Karoly
Vision (Towards the Light)
Oil, cardboard on board
61,5x46 cm
Private collection

His last important public commission was the "Apotheosis of the Habsburg Dynasty", a huge ceiling fresco in the Habsburg Room of the newly rebuilt Royal Palace, that he painted in 1903, one year before his death. Lotz was already seriously ill when he worked on the fresco. The "Apotheosis" followed the traditions of Baroque court painting and the work was praised by contemporary critics. The fresco survived the war unscathed, but it was destroyed in the 1950s.

Attributed to Karl Karoly Lotz (Hungarian, German, 1833 - 1904)
Nude Woman
Oil on canvas
31 1/2 x 24 inches / 79 x 60 cm
Private collection

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
Bathing Woman, c. 1901
Oil on canvas
180 x 70 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Painting nudes was one of the favourite genres of Károly Lotz, especially during the 1890s he painted several nudes. His female nudes are generally very sensuous, with natural beauty radiating from their gestures. This particular nude is a little abstract; her posture, the cape over the shoulder, and the black stone vessel are reminiscent of the cool grace of Ingres's nudes. More on this painting

Károly Lotz(1833, Homburg vor der Höhe - 1904, Budapest)
After the Bath, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
128 x 97 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

He died in 1904 in Budapest. As a "Prince of Hungarian Artists" he was given a state funeral and interred inside a memorial. His pictures, drawings and sketches were donated to the State of Hungary and are now in the Szépművészeti Múzeum. Several Hungarian cities have streets named after him, there are Hungarian stamps bearing his likeness, and there is a bust in the National Museum in Budapest. More on Károly Lotz




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

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