34. German School
Late 19th Century

Birches at Bornstedt

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German School, Birches

Birches at Bornstedt

Drawing in hard and soft pencil on light brown, wove paper, 290 x 241, inscribed Bornstedt, 31.7.94. Bornstedt is a suburb of Pottsdam and abuts the grounds of Frederick the Great’s palace of Sans-Souci, not far from Berlin. That location, as well as the style of the drawing, lead one to place it in the circle of Max Liebermann (1847-1935), the greatest exponent of German impressionism and the most influential teacher of his time in Germany. The branching of the trees is well observed and drawn, but this is no botanical study. It is, instead, an impressionist rendering of dappled light and shade, full of atmosphere and remarkably finished and satisfying for an on-the-spot sketch. A pity it was not signed, for one would like to know more of the artist.