catalog text
COUNT WOLDEMAR VON REICHENBACH (GERMAN, 1846-1914) OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS
"Bacchanale" c. 1893, signed lower left "Wold Reichenbach, 1893 Munchen" with a five-point star
Provenance: Christies, New York, 21 Jan 1978 (label retained on back of stretcher)
Item # 409TDP06S
This very large and impressive work is a vibrant and most interesting scene - an incredible strike point, the painting measures just over 64" wide and is a defining work for whatever room it becomes a part of. A unique perspective on two mythological characters, the painting depicts both Bacchus and Satyr late in life, resting on the grassy forest floor beside a trickling brook in deep conversation. Bacchus is full of laughter, his head thrown back as he enjoys his afternoon pipe - the aged Satyr is clearly in the middle of a story, the expression on his face conveying a certain humor and sarcasm. The landscape is full of life, the deep greens of foliage in a high-chroma pigment, such that they burst from the darkness of the complex forestscape.
Count Woldemar von Reichenbach produced a very small body of work, his paintings quite rare acquisitions that only come on the open market with great infrequency. Dresden holds two of his paintings, "View of the Artist's Studio, Wachwitz" and "Interior, Moritzburg Castle. He studied under Gussow in Weimar and eventually settled in Wachwitz near Dresden, where he eventually died in 1914. The present work is catalogued in the E. Benezit, noted as "New York, 21 Jan 1978, Bacchanale (1893, oil on canvas re-mounted on panel, 33 x 64 1/4" / 84 x 163 cm) USD 2,600."
References:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. XI, Gründ, p. 811-12
Measurements: 33" H x 64 1/4" W
Condition Report:
Unframed. Oil on canvas remounted on panel. Surface recently cleaned and conserved, overall making a very fine ready-to-hang presentation. Under UV shows murky-green of the recent varnish somewhat obscuring a clear read on the surface, but the right side shows inpainting of Bacchus in particular: left thigh region, some face and hair touch ups, scattered touch ups along his pipe, scattered touch ups in upper right quadrant, ground between Bacchus' legs, along the edges of the canvas where the frame would rub; also with a rusty flare in lower right quadrant beside Bacchus' right foot. Other scattered touch ups as visible in the high resolution UV image.