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Lot Essay
Greatly admired as one of Gustav Bauernfeind's largest and most notable canvases, the present work belongs to a series of large-scale oils of the same subject that would be the artistic centerpiece of the artist's late career. Completed in 1904, it is thought to be the artist's last oil painting before his death in December of the same year, consequently the same month it was exhibited at Heinmann's gallery in Munich. Two other versions include a slightly smaller yet almost identical composition, as well as a more unfinished oil that displays different figural groupings.
In what is classified as his 'fourth Oriental journey', the years 1896-1904 found Bauernfeind resident in Palestine, an enigmatic and multi-faceted land where the artist would spend the rest of his life. From his first trip to Palestine in 1880, Bauernfeind was captivated by the Holy City with its architectural monuments and diverse human types. Even though he was regarded neither as a member of the Evangelical Church nor the Society of Templars, he held a fascination for prayer customs among a variety of religious sects. His earliest depiction of Jews at a holy site is At the Entrance to the Temple Mount (Private Collection) painted during his second journey to the Middle East.
The Western Wall, also known as The Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the only remaining stretch of the western side of the stone platform on which stood the Temple of Solomon. Throughout the centuries, the chants and prayers of pilgrims towards the wall evokes the capture of the city by the Romans and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.. The wall itself dates from the Second Century B.C., though its upper sections were added at a later date. Many artists before Bauernfeind found the wall an inspiring subject. Jean-Léon Gérôme first visited Jerusalem in 1862 and fourteen years later immortalized the subject in his masterpiece Solomon's Wall, Jerusalem (fig. 1) (sold Christie's, New York, 6 May 1999, lot 4).
In these later years, Bauernfeind was plagued by bad health, so much so that his wife Elise took over the writing of his daily entries. She diligently documents her husband's almost daily expeditions to the holy site to make sketches which he used to work up the final composition in his studio. They were later discovered in the attic of the artist's home after his death in one of his many skizzenbuchs that he carried around during his travels. While many details of the site are documentary, such as the size and the color of the stone as well as the height of the wall, the ancient Hebrew characters carved into the stones are not true to the monument itself but were most likely added as a decorative flourish.
(fig. 1) Jean-Léon Gérôme, Solomon's Wall, Jerusalem, Christie's, New York, Private Collection.
In what is classified as his 'fourth Oriental journey', the years 1896-1904 found Bauernfeind resident in Palestine, an enigmatic and multi-faceted land where the artist would spend the rest of his life. From his first trip to Palestine in 1880, Bauernfeind was captivated by the Holy City with its architectural monuments and diverse human types. Even though he was regarded neither as a member of the Evangelical Church nor the Society of Templars, he held a fascination for prayer customs among a variety of religious sects. His earliest depiction of Jews at a holy site is At the Entrance to the Temple Mount (Private Collection) painted during his second journey to the Middle East.
The Western Wall, also known as The Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the only remaining stretch of the western side of the stone platform on which stood the Temple of Solomon. Throughout the centuries, the chants and prayers of pilgrims towards the wall evokes the capture of the city by the Romans and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.. The wall itself dates from the Second Century B.C., though its upper sections were added at a later date. Many artists before Bauernfeind found the wall an inspiring subject. Jean-Léon Gérôme first visited Jerusalem in 1862 and fourteen years later immortalized the subject in his masterpiece Solomon's Wall, Jerusalem (fig. 1) (sold Christie's, New York, 6 May 1999, lot 4).
In these later years, Bauernfeind was plagued by bad health, so much so that his wife Elise took over the writing of his daily entries. She diligently documents her husband's almost daily expeditions to the holy site to make sketches which he used to work up the final composition in his studio. They were later discovered in the attic of the artist's home after his death in one of his many skizzenbuchs that he carried around during his travels. While many details of the site are documentary, such as the size and the color of the stone as well as the height of the wall, the ancient Hebrew characters carved into the stones are not true to the monument itself but were most likely added as a decorative flourish.
(fig. 1) Jean-Léon Gérôme, Solomon's Wall, Jerusalem, Christie's, New York, Private Collection.