Galerie Dreyfus
75
-
ANTON STEINER (BRESLAU, 1819 – UTTWIL, 1891)
Flowers in a Va…
See original version (French)
75
-
ANTON STEINER (BRESLAU, 1819 – UTTWIL, 1891)
Flowers in a Va…
See original version (French)
Estimate €12,000 - €15,000
Voluntary lot
Description
ANTON STEINER
(BRESLAU, 1819 – UTTWIL, 1891)
Flowers in a Vase
1872
Oil on tinplate
62.6 x 56.7 cm
Signed ‘Steiner’ on a sheet of paper (bottom right) and inscribed
on the reverse ‘gemahlt von Anton Steiner L... 1872’
Provenance
Koch Foundation;
Sotheby’s auction, New York, 23 October 1997, lot no. 305;
Private collection, New York.
Exhibitions
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Koch Foundation, 1983;
Worcester, Mass., Worcester Art Museum, Koch Foundation, 1985.
The colours are fresh and vivid, the style crisp and precise; this bouquet of
wildflowers stands out clearly against the anthracite-grey background of the wall. Irises, bellflowers and other
dahlias display a range of cheerful colours, from blue to orange-pink, in a spectrum
worthy of a rainbow. The sharpness of the tones makes them seem almost artificial, as if the painter
were enhancing nature’s colour range by adapting it to his own palette. Perfectly
balanced, the composition follows the model of 17th-century Flemish and Dutch
still lifes, in which the vase, centred, rests on a mantelpiece upon which two peaches and a few
cut flowers are delicately placed. The shadows are precisely rendered on the
table, lending volume to the flowers and fruit and emphasising the intensity of the light coming
from the top left, which bathes the blooms of the bouquet in direct light, where the
whites sparkle.
Anton Victor Alexandre Steinbach or Steiner (1819–1891) was a German painter. Trained at the
Dresden Academy, he became a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schulz (1796–1866) in Berlin. Then, in 1852, he
settled in Munich. His work, and in particular this piece *Flowers in a Vase*, owes much to the
Biedermeier style—a simple, unpretentious form of painting that developed a realistic approach in which
the paintings often resemble photographic reproductions. The inspiration clearly
stems from 17th-century Flemish and Dutch painting, but the pseudo-realist style
readily idealises reality by seeking to enhance it. Whilst the watercolour technique is
particularly favoured, much like that of the Flemish miniature painters, Steiner here favours a return to
compositions on metal plates. In this respect, the German painter follows
the tradition of flower bouquet painting in which Jan Brueghel the Velour
(1568–1625) particularly excelled, and one can sense the admiration Steiner holds for him two centuries later.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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