ALBRECHT KAUW (Strasbourg, 1621 - Berne, 1681) SWISS... Lot 24

ALBRECHT KAUW (Strasbourg, 1621 - Berne, 1681) SWISS ALLEGORY 1673 Painting on canvas Signed lower middle 96 x 131 cm Certificate René Millet Provenance: - Castle of Königshof-Solothurn; - Sale Drouot 30 March 2007, lot 41 ; - Swiss collection. Albrecht Kauw (1621 - 1681) was a painter active in Switzerland. Based in Bern, he was at ease in all genres, portraits, landscapes, topographical views or still lifes, he was very successful. Some of his works were intended to decorate the walls of castles and "public" buildings. This Allegory of Switzerland is characteristic of the Baroque period by the theatrical staging of these characters to which are associated the winged figures emerging from the clouds. The role of these allegorical representations is to reinforce the understanding within an elite, in a country composed then of 13 confederated cantons, and which must guard against powerful neighbours such as Austria at the head of the Holy Empire from which Switzerland had withdrawn. The castle of Königshof was bought by Johan Ulrich von Surry in 1568. In 1732, it passed to the Gugger family by marriage. Marguerite von Gugger subsequently married Johan Baptiste von Alterman (1764-1849). Their daughter was married to Colonel Edouard von Tugginer (1787-1865). In 1951 the castle was bought by the town of Solothurn. An important group of furniture and works of art from the castle, which remained in private hands, was sold at auction on 30 March 2007, in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, room 2, by Maître Brissoneau and Maître Dagreault. Brissoneau and Maître Daguerre. Among the paintings, we should mention a picture attributed to the Swiss painter Albrecht Kauw (1621-1681) Allegory of Switzerland, a pair of portraits by Jean-François-Gilles Colson and an Allegory of Napoleon Bonaparte's accession to the Empire by Georges Rouget (1783-1869), a pupil of Jacques-Louis David. In the centre, a bearded Swiss man (E), sword at his side, waves the flag gules with a silver cross, symbol of Helvetia Moderna. On the left, a man in armour, leaning with his right hand on the Habsburg shield, represents Austria (D). On the right, under a drape of scarlet velvet, a woman of quality, in vertugadin, designated as Voluptas, a probable image of France, presents a table garnished with silverware, fruit and wine (F). Attached to the Swiss's harness hang seven purses (e). They symbolize the nations in whose service he fought: the second is the arms of Austria, the fourth the three lilies of France, the sixth Denmark. Detail 1: The inscription Avaritia, (e), painted on the harness, underlines that the Helvetian warrior is not only motivated by the love of his country; he is a mercenary in the service of the European states that can pay him. Detail 2: In the background, on the right, William Tell aims at the apple placed on his son's head (I). William Tell (in German Wilhelm Tell) is the hero of one of the six founding myths of Switzerland. His story was first told in the White Book of Sarnen (1474) and in the Tellenlied (1501-1545). It illustrates the rebellion of this Swiss citizen against the authority of the Empire represented by an Austrian bailiff. Detail 3: On the left are two episodes of the revolt on the shores of Lake Lucerne: the bailiff's servants unharnessing the oxen of the ploughman Melchtal, who is brandishing the goad that is going to gouge the eye of one of his attackers (L); and the assassination of the bailiff Wolfen Schiessen, who is chopped up in his bath by Baumgarte, a disgruntled Helvetian taxpayer (H). Above the Swiss, the arm of God appears through the clouds, stretching his bow and arrow ready to strike (B). Two angels flank him, displaying significant banners in Latin: Nisi conversi fueritis (If you are not converted, you will perish) (A), and Arcum suum te tendit (God has bent the bow on you) (C). Detail 4: Below the figures, three banners with maxims (J-K-L). On the left, under the man in armour, probably representing Austria or the Empire, is written (J) My wickedness (?) is the cause of your freedom. In the center, under the flag bearer, the banner reads (K): I see to it that my evil course does not lead me back to pious submission On the right (L), under the figure of Voluptas, one can read Vera Amicitiae en defentur, to Johan Rudolpho de Graffenried juente Anno 1673 (-). The coat of arms next to it is that of Graffenried (M). The von Graffenried family, or sometimes de Graffenried, (continued description in lgne on kohn.paris)