LOUIS GURLITT 1812 Altona – 1897

LOUIS GURLITT 1812 Altona – 1897 Naundorf b. Schmiedeberg LANDSCAPE IN THE SABINER MOUNTAINS, 1885 Oil on canvas. 99 x 156 cm (R. 11 x 168.5 cm). Signed and dated lower left. The following labels on the stretcher: label of the Kunstsalon Emil Richter Dresden with the number 3263; E. with handwritten note: Eigentum der Frau J. Gurlitt, Hamburg-Altona, Palmaille 61; E. von Hermes Frankfurt am Main; as well as remnants of a label with illegible inscriptions. Partially retouched. Frame. Louis Gurlitt is one of the outstanding landscape painters of the 19th century in Germany. Born in Altona, which was still under Danish administration at the time, he came from a humble background. His talent as a draughtsman was evident from an early age and was specifically encouraged by his lessons with Anton Carl Dusch and Günther Gensler. From 1832 to 1834, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. There he was particularly influenced by the teachings of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and Johann Ludwig Lund, who had a decisive influence on his turn to landscape painting. Early travels, especially to Norway, where he produced impressive nature studies, consolidated his style. In 1842, he settled in Düsseldorf, where he made contact with the artists of the Düsseldorf School, including Andreas Achenbach and Carl Ferdinand Sohn. In the following decades, Gurlitt traveled throughout much of Europe and lived in Rome and Vienna at times, always closely connected to the art life of his time. Literature: Louis Gurlitt 1812-1897 Portraits of European landscapes in paintings and drawings, cf. illustrations no. 83-86, 96, 102, 133, 150. Provenance: Private collection, Düsseldorf.