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FINE BARBIZON PAINTING BY ADOLF KAUFMANN (AUSTRIAN, 1848-1916)
Signed lower right "A Kaufmann", label verso "When autumn smiles all beauteous in decay"
Item # 704HJC24Q
An incredibly powerful and moody Barbizon painting, the scene depicts a peasant couple with an ox-cart as they travel down a forest road. In the Benezit a painting of the same dimensions and same subject description is noted to have sold in Amsterdam in 1992, but whether that is the same subject or not would require further research. The present example has a quote from Somerville on a label verso numbered 567: “When autumn smiles all beauteous in decay”, which continues to read “and paints each chequered grove with various hues, my setter ranges in the new-shorn fields, his nose in air erect: from ridge to ridge panting he bounds, his quartered ground divides in equal intervals, nor careless leaves one inch intry’d”
The work is hung in a magnificent and likely original frame, entirely hand carved of pine with remnants of old gilding throughout. It is a gorgeous display of the rocaille with furls of foliage in the corners. While the frame has sustained some loss over the years, the painting remains in outstanding original condition, clean and vibrant in color. It is a very fine acquisition for the passionate collector of Barbizon period works.
Literature: E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. VII, Gründ, p. 1112
Measurements: 55” W x 2 1/2” D x 45” H [frame]; 39 1/2” W x 29 1/8” H [canvas]
Condition Report:
Early frame, possibly original; extensive breaks and losses to the carved frame. Relined on linen in the last twenty years, surface cleaned around the same time with scattered surface touch ups visible under UV. Light surface craquelure. An outstanding presentation.