Lot Essay
Son of the famous artist Hermann Kauffmann, Hugo Kauffmann began his artistic training as a pupil of Jakob Becker in Frankfurt. He traveled to Dseldorf, and then spent the years from 1863 to 1871 in Kronenburg. After a short visit to Paris, the artist then settled in Munich, although he exhibited throughout his life in various German cities, among them Munich, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden and Frankfurt.
The Musicians is a particularly well-executed example from Kauffmann's oeuvre. Best-loved for his genre paintings, The Musicians was clearly executed by the artist at the height of his powers. The intricacy of the detail, still obvious in the darkened interior, is a tour-de-force of brushwork and the subtlety of the light filtering down from the windows, brightening patches of the dimly-lit bar room, are all hallmarks of Kauffmann's work.
The Musicians is a particularly well-executed example from Kauffmann's oeuvre. Best-loved for his genre paintings, The Musicians was clearly executed by the artist at the height of his powers. The intricacy of the detail, still obvious in the darkened interior, is a tour-de-force of brushwork and the subtlety of the light filtering down from the windows, brightening patches of the dimly-lit bar room, are all hallmarks of Kauffmann's work.