Hilly Landscape Hans Thoma

In the 1880s, Hans Thomas’s landscape art was in the process of transitioning from a realistic observation of nature to a symbolically charged idealised landscape – our painting certainly still belongs to the former category: The view extends over a rocky outcrop in the foreground to a gently undulating valley through which a paved path winds; yet the scene is dominated by the rising, tree-covered hill with two summits, which, in this close-up, occupies almost the overall picture and reveals only a small strip of the cloudy sky at the top. Its colour scheme, comprising rich blue and bright white – through which the base of the cardboard board repeatedly shows through – contrasts with the earthy brown tones of the hilly landscape. Even though the painting is not quite finished, it derives its essential appeal from this colour contrast. Thoma sketched the landscape directly onto the cardboard with a charcoal pencil, which he left visible as a design element in its own right – he applied the oil paint only very thinly, in a glazed, almost transparent layer, so that the charcoal lines show through – this resulted in broken, earthy colour nuances that were not applied smoothly but display an almost artisanal texture. This reflects an artistic philosophy that sought simple means of expression and naturalness, even in landscape painting. Our painting may well depict a view of the Böllental valley near his home town of Bernau in the Black Forest, which Thoma visited time and again; yet his concern is not with topographical documentation but with landscape in general as a mental refuge in the face of increasing industrialisation and urbanisation in the second half of the 19th century. In these works, civilisation is far removed; they symbolise a sense of belonging and home, to which Thoma remained connected throughout his life. Dr Peter Prange | 1839 Bernau - Karlsruhe 1924 | 19. Jahrhundert | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x1750 | Provenance: Charlotte Schumm-Walter (1860-1947), Bonn; Elisabeth Rosenkranz-Schumm (1881-1974), Kreuznach (1922); Privatsammlung, Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Utropspris:SEK 111,779.42

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