Lot 87: PAUL VON FRANKEN (BAD GODESBERG 1818-1884 DÜSSELDORF) Figures on the Shore of the Black Sea,

PAUL VON FRANKEN (BAD GODESBERG 1818-1884 DÜSSELDORF) Figures on the Shore of the Black Sea, signed and dated "PVFranken 18.52." (lower right). Oil on canvas, 95 by 124.5 cm.
Provenance: Private collection, UK.

This Romantic painting combines the traditional genre theme with a landscape painting. The couple is carrying blankets and a cane basket filled with dishes, glasses and cutlery suggesting that the party is going for a picnic on the shore. The two figures are subtlely turned towards each other expressing feelings of affection, which is emphasised by their reciprocal gazes. Since the work was completed in 1852, the year that Paul von Franken married his Latvian wife Helen Korber, it is possible that the artist might have been inspired by his own private life.

Although the precise location of the painting cannot be discerned, it is plausible to suggest that the costal landscape represents the Black Sea shore. Von Franken was particularly moved by the beauty of the Black Sea and of the Caucasian landscape and chose to move to Georgia with his wife in 1853. Although he travelled extensively, visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg, he continued to paint his favourite Black Sea and Caucasian landscapes even upon his return to Düsseldorf in 1861.

Von Franken's ability as an excellent draughtsman is demonstrated here in the construction of the composition. There are several perspective lines which create a harmonious and well balanced rhythm throughout. The immediate focus is the group in the foreground and from here the eye of the viewer is drawn to follow the path towards the mountains. Here, the viewer is struck by the sunlight in the sky and is led through the light in the clouds to the top of the mountains, towards the darker area of the sky on the right of the composition. Another distinctive perspective line runs from the lower left corner, through the group in the foreground, past the figures in the background and ending on the horizon on the sea. The contrast between the light and darker areas of the clouds plays an important role in creating depth throughout the composition, a device employed in most of his oeuvre.