catalog text
GOTTFRIED SCHULTZ
German, 1842-1919
Still-Life with Fruits and Wine on a Marble Surface with a Small Fly
Oil on linen | Signed upper left "G. Schultz"
Item # 402UJE16Z
An intricately painted still-life scene centered around a blown glass goblet of white wine centered on a marble table top. Red and white grapes spill across the surface with a sprig of the grape vine together with several large leaves resting on the top while peaches, a pear, two plums and an open apricot are laid out on the table. A single fly looks on at the table of sweet fruits and juices, its tiny body casting a faint shadow on the carrara marble beneath it. In the glass of wine, the panes of a window can be seen reflecting against the curved body.
It is interesting to note a two things that caught our eye - first is the water droplets on the grapes and on the table top, a feature Schultz frequently includes in his still-lifes. And secondly the inclusion of a single spoiled white grape with its deflated and discolored skin front and center. Honesty in the midst of a tasty composition. In other examples, Schultz has frequently included grape leaves that have holes and browning on them or are even missing parts of their edging.
Gottfried Schultz's paintings are quite scarce on the open-market, perhaps indicative of a low output by the painter. One of his paintings is held in the permanent collection of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Florida (acc. no. P-042-92), a 10 x 12 in canvas featuring berries and fruits on a marble slab before a soup toureen. The few paintings that have shown up on the market over the years would include: Still-life of Grapes, Peaches, Plums and Hazel Nuts with a Glass of Champagne on a Marble Mantleshelf, 13 3/4" x 17 3/4", [Christie's, London, achieved 9200 GBP, 19 March 1993], Still-life of Red Berries, Peaches and Strawberries, a tiny painting measuring just 7" x 8" [Auktionshaus Zofingen, Switzerland, 16,000 CHF, 31 May 2002 - the pair to this painting, also measuring 7" x 8", was offered separately at the sale and also achieved 16,000 CHF], and a 7 1/2" x 10" example of Still Life with Grapes, Plums and a Peach offered at Van Ham Kunstauktionen in Germany, which achieved 4500 euros on the 17th of May 2013.
Provenance:
- Wolf's Gallery, Cleveland, OH, lot 243, September 22nd 1990
- Private Collection, Macomb County, MI, acquired from the above
ARTIST
Gottfried Schultz was born in Darfeld on February 4th of 1842. He studied as a pupil of J.W. Preyer in Düsseldorf where he would eventually set up his studio. He painted almost exclusively still-life compositions, almost always featuring fruit and local foliage along with servingware, goblets or cups. Little is known about the life of this meticulous painter, though what little authentic work from his studio remains is always meticulous and brilliant in its handling of color and light. Often his work includes an insect: butterflies, houseflies, bees and the like.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. XII, Gründ, 2006, p. 807
Measurements: 19 1/8" H x 1 3/4" D x 22 5/8" W [frame]; 14 3/8" H x 17 3/4" W [canvas]
Condition Report:
Professionally restored by our conservator [treatment included surface cleaning, removal of discolored varnish, replace any missing keys, key out any slackness in the canvas, apply preliminary layer of traditional damar varnish, inpaint losses around the old tear, final varnish]. Old small L-shaped tear upper right corner. Tiny old scuff at the highest bulb of the wine goblet. Original stretchers with several replaced keys. Wax relined. Hung in a contemporary frame with minor gilt wear throughout.