Lot Essay
In 1918 Max Liebermann painted three versions of the Tiergarten subject (E. nos. 1918/24, 1918/25 and 1918/26) of which the present work is the most finished. The Berliner Tiergarten was a popular park in the heart of Berlin which provided an ideal setting for some of Liebermann's most mature Impressionist paintings. With its broad brushwork, strong light effects and thrill in the captured moment, the present painting perfectly illustrates Liebermann's debt to the Impressionists. He delighted in painting the bourgeoisie of Berlin who visited the Tiergarten throughout the year and from 1917 Liebermann painted many plein air views of the park. Just one year before the present painting was executed, the Akademie der Künste organised the largest retrospective of Liebermann's work at that date, comprising no less that 191 paintings. It was a time when Liebermann had reached the pinnacle of his artistic career. In the following year he took over as president of the Preussische Akademie der Künste. The academy exhibitions developed during his presidency from 1920 to 1932 into the most important cultural events in the capital.
The present painting previously belonged to the German Industrialist
Emil Bührle (1890-1956), who amassed one of the world's leading collections of Impressionist and modern art which is on permanent exhibition at the Emil Bührle Stiftung in Zurich.
The present painting previously belonged to the German Industrialist
Emil Bührle (1890-1956), who amassed one of the world's leading collections of Impressionist and modern art which is on permanent exhibition at the Emil Bührle Stiftung in Zurich.