Lot 120: CARL HERPFER GERMAN, 1836-1897 THE SUITOR MEETS HER FAMILY

signed Carl Herpfer and dated Munchen 1890 (lower right)

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

Private Collection, United States
CATALOGUE NOTE

Carl Herpfer specialised in genre scenes which evoked an earlier era. His gift in capturing the lavish fabrics and textures of historical dress is coupled with a sensitive awareness of Rococo and Biedermeier furniture. He deploys these carefully rendered visual effects to enliven appealing narratives set in an elegant golden age. This painting's charming theme is that of a romantic match about to be made. A tour de force of the artist's favorite subject matter and style, the work has both the element of drama and a surfeit of the sumptous, textured details at which Herpfer excelled.

Little is known about Herpfer's life. From 1854, he was enrolled as the pupil of Schraudolph, Foltz, Piloty and Ramberg at the Munich Academy. He exhibited regularly at all the leading German exhibition venues including the Munich Glaspalast in 1869, the Lübeck Salon of 1878, the Berlin Grosse Kunstausstellung in 1894 and 1895 and in Dresden.

37 1/4 by 50 1/4 in.<br><br>94.6 by 127.6 cm