catalog text
"SCHOLAR READING AN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT" BY AUGUST EDUARD NICOLAUS CLAUD MEYER (GERMAN, 1856-1919)
Signed upper right "Cl Meyer", in oil on canvas
Item # 002ZVQ11A
A well-detailed interior scene by Augusts Eduard Nicolaus Claud Meyer, known as Claus-Meyer, the work is executed in oil on canvas and depicts an aged scholar examining an illuminated manuscript in a quiet room. The carved wooden cabinet is beautifully contrasted with light striking it from the open window to the far right beside a stack of volumes on the small wall-mounted shelf. A nearby table has a row of three hour-glasses, a small vessel with red wax and loose papers. The upper right corner is signed "CL Meyer" in block lettering.
It remains a very fine window into a prior century, a serene picture that beautifully captures a relaxed scene by bathing the seated scholar in a glowing luminescence as he examines his text.
Born in Linden, Germany on November 20th of 1856, August Meyer studied under Kreling at the college of art in Nuremberg (1875-76) before enrolling at the academy in Munich to study under Barth Alexander, Wagner and Löffly. He was made an honorary member of the Munich Academy (medal winner in 1883) and of the Berlin Academy (1886) and was also awarded medals at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889 and in Antwerp in 1894. He died November 9th of 1919 in Düsseldorf. [biography from E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. IX, Gründ, 2006, p. 871-72]
Measurements: 15 1/8" H x 11 3/4" W [canvas]; 18 3/8" H x 15 1/4" W x 1 3/4" D [frame]
Condition Report:
Relined. Professionally conserved in the last decade, in very fine presentation-ready condition. Contemporary frame with minor wear.