Eduard von Grützner (1846 Großkarlowitz - 1925... Lot 1754

Eduard von Grützner (1846 Großkarlowitz - 1925 Munich) "A good roast" (also titled "A welcome gift"). Original title A finely glazed masterpiece by Grützner with a characteristically atmospheric, narrative scene from monastic life. In 1889, the leading art magazine of the time, "Die Kunst für alle", reported on the creation of the painting: "München. In Ed. Grützner's studio, another large oil painting has been completed, entitled 'Welcome Gift'. The artist leads us into a monastery kitchen and depicts the moment when the neighboring lord of the manor has just placed a freshly-shot rooster at the feet of Father Küchenmeister. The welcome gift is viewed with great interest by the chef and two serving brothers, and this interest is understandable, as the stockfish lying on the kitchen table hints at Lent. Now it has come to an end, and the fresh fish is to deliver the first roast! Like all of Grützner's works, the painting is executed with great care down to the smallest detail, the color is thoroughly unmannered and the double penetration of light is particularly charming. Indeed, the present painting stands out not only for its consummate richness of detail and subtle lighting, but also for the vividness of the narrative and the depiction of the individual figures: masterly down to the exhausted hunting assistant on the right-hand side of the picture and the hunting dog looking up at the well-bodied, contented chef and his snuffbox. After studying at the academy under Hermann Anschütz and Carl von Piloty from 1865 to 1870, Grützner quickly enjoyed great success and became one of the most important and still most popular Munich genre painters. Grützner's main subjects were depictions of Falstaff, cardinals reading and collecting as well as cheerful motifs from monastic life - in particular monks indulging in sensual and extensive earthly pleasures such as eating and drinking. From 1868 onwards, he regularly held successful exhibitions in Munich, Vienna, Berlin and other cities. Oil/wood panel. L. u. signed a. dat. (18)89. 70.5 x 91 cm. Frame. Listed in László Balogh's work list: "Eduard von Grützner. 1846 - 1925. a Munich genre painter of the Gründerzeit. Monograph and critical catalog of his oil paintings, oil studies and oil sketches", Marburg 1991, no. 481. Further reading: "Personal- und Ateliernachrichten", in: "Die Kunst für alle", issue 11, March 1, 1889, p. 172 (titled "Ein willkommenes Geschenk"); wood engraving in "Universum", 1890; Boetticher, vol. I/1. p. 448, no. 68 (under the title "Ein guter Braten". Provenance: Auktionshaus Weinmüller, Munich, October 1971, no. 1331 (with illus.). Oil on panel. Signed and dated (18)89. Mentioned in the catalogue raisonné by László Balogh, no. 481.