Exceptional Works #1

In the new format “Exceptional Works” we look forward to presenting exceptional works on a reoccurring basis. This carefully curated selection will focus on master pieces from private collections, new discoveries and recent attributions. We are grateful for the scholarly support from a wide range of experts who have made this project possible.

#1: Max Slevogt, Bathers, 1900

Painted with masterly ease at Lake Chiemsee in the summer of 1900, this work is an example of Slevogt's new path into plein-air painting. His decisive brushwork and the spontaneously chosen composition with bathers condenses into a summer atmosphere. Beginning in 1898, Slevogt ventured into à-la-prima painting before his companions Corinth and Liebermann. In his first exhibition in 1899 at Paul Cassirer in Berlin, his paintings hang next to Manet and Degas. There he also sees Manet's late work "Country House in Rueil", acquired by Hugo von Tschudi for the National Galerie Berlin. Manet's influence remained a enduring presence, especially after his visit to the Paris World Exhibition in 1900, where Slevogt's "Sheherazade" was exhibited. International parallel artistic developments, for example the beach scenes by Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) should also be mentioned in this context. The first owner of our painting was Carl Moll, a painter friend and member of the Secession in Vienna.