"PUTTNER Walther (Leipzig 1872, 1953) German school."
Oil on canvas, signed in the lower right corner.
Dimensions: 120 x 120 cm, with frame 137 x 137 cm.
The young painter was trained by his father, Richard Püttner. He completed his know-how at the Munich Academy, in the workshop of Herterich and in that of Hœcker. He travels to Italy, discovers the Mediterranean light and puts it into practice with regard to the German light. The painter settled permanently in Munich, he painted genre scenes (Soldiers), landscapes (Landscape in autumn), interior scenes (The painter's studio), portraits (Maiden's head) and still lifes.
Painter, illustrator and lithographer, he never ceases to push the limits of his practice. He is collected in Germany and Vienna, his paintings make prices in the auction room.
For the present painting, Püttner depicts a still life on the theme of erudition and playfulness. The colored hangings mask the background of the scene, offering a colorful background to the objects in the foreground. A few roses in a vase, a painted wooden harlequin doll, a few thick stacked books and a lush green plant are gathered on a table.
The orchestration of the objects is learned. The white sheet is carelessly placed, as if someone had just put it on the table. It horizontally unites the objects arranged on the table, offering a point of light and continuity in the composition.
The geometry of the harlequin's costume echoes that of the vase of flowers. Finely crafted, it contrasts with the terracotta pot of the green plant. The leaves of the latter exceed in height the bouquet of roses until they come out of the frame. The out-of-frame suggests a space inaccessible to the viewer, ready to put his head through the window to access the interior space.
Bibliography :
Emmanuel Bénézit,Dictionary of painters, sculptors, draftsmen and engravers, volume VIII, Gründ Bookstore, ed. 1976, p. 529
Museums:National Gallery of Munich, Kestener Museum of Hanover, Stettin Museum, Wiesbaden museum, Elberfeld Museum, Germany. Modern Gallery of Vienna, Austria