拍品專文
Quellnymphe von Faunen belauscht was executed in 1911 when Stuck was at the height of his artistic career. In 1909 he had received much praise for his work in Venice, where he received the Italian orders of Mauritius and St. Lazarus. On the eve of his fiftieth birthday in 1913 he was given the title of Geheimrat (Privy Councillor) and became an honorary member of the University of Munich. That same year, Fritz von Ostini's monograph on the artist was published.
In the present work, Stuck employs many of the techniques which had afforded him such prominence in the artistic circles of his day. Under the much favoured guise of mythology, the artist illustrates his own fascination with the intricacies of human sexuality. Voss describes it as 'the man's desire is awakened as he observes the woman in this intimate moment. In the passive-active role which the woman plays in this scenario there is further appeal for the viewer; not only does her nakedness appeal, but also the very presentation of that nakedness illustrated for in this voyeuristic lust ... the observed may be fully unaware, which is the case with [the present work]. Here the composition is particularly effective, precisely due to the unsuspecting state of the nymph and the lust of the fawns, and the viewer is aware that they cannot keep their composure for long. It is therefore left to the viewer's imagination to play out the remainder of this captivating situation. (H. Voss, op. cit., p. 22).
Voss draws upon the inherent context of the present work and in so doing, illustrates precisely its compositional and visual strengths. The lascivious fawns are strategically placed directly above the bathing nymph who is oblivious to the intrusion, thereby also making the viewer a spectator in this voyeuristic spectacle. The artist creates a visually stimulating composition by employing bold fields of colour and form, almost verging on the abstract, to draw us into the subject at hand. Stuck continuously explored such compositional techniques with which to develop his aesthetic pursuits and Quellnymphe von Faunen belauscht illustrates the artist at the peak of his career.
In the present work, Stuck employs many of the techniques which had afforded him such prominence in the artistic circles of his day. Under the much favoured guise of mythology, the artist illustrates his own fascination with the intricacies of human sexuality. Voss describes it as 'the man's desire is awakened as he observes the woman in this intimate moment. In the passive-active role which the woman plays in this scenario there is further appeal for the viewer; not only does her nakedness appeal, but also the very presentation of that nakedness illustrated for in this voyeuristic lust ... the observed may be fully unaware, which is the case with [the present work]. Here the composition is particularly effective, precisely due to the unsuspecting state of the nymph and the lust of the fawns, and the viewer is aware that they cannot keep their composure for long. It is therefore left to the viewer's imagination to play out the remainder of this captivating situation. (H. Voss, op. cit., p. 22).
Voss draws upon the inherent context of the present work and in so doing, illustrates precisely its compositional and visual strengths. The lascivious fawns are strategically placed directly above the bathing nymph who is oblivious to the intrusion, thereby also making the viewer a spectator in this voyeuristic spectacle. The artist creates a visually stimulating composition by employing bold fields of colour and form, almost verging on the abstract, to draw us into the subject at hand. Stuck continuously explored such compositional techniques with which to develop his aesthetic pursuits and Quellnymphe von Faunen belauscht illustrates the artist at the peak of his career.