Need help identifying 1900s German pen and ink drawing

poppyjasper · June 5th, 2011, 11:19 PM

Can you help identify the artist and the name of his or her ~early 1900s pen and ink drawing? It was handed down to me by German relatives. An image of the drawing and a close up of the signature are attached. Thank you so much!

John · June 6th, 2011, 12:28 AM

I believe the signature reads "B. Gccccccccccccc".

Seriously, it's a wonderful drawing, but I can't begin to guess what the artist's name is.

Luca · June 6th, 2011, 09:40 AM

By looking at the signature digipic I think it is an etching.
Luca

poppyjasper · June 8th, 2011, 03:22 PM

Thanks for the laugh - I needed it!
I'm not getting anywhere with identifying this etching. Will have to take it to Bonham & Butterfield to get appraised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

I believe the signature reads "B. Gccccccccccccc".

Seriously, it's a wonderful drawing, but I can't begin to guess what the artist's name is.

poppyjasper · June 8th, 2011, 03:23 PM

Thank you for help in identifying the 'drawing' as an etching instead.
I appreciate the time you took!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luca

By looking at the signature digipic I think it is an etching.
Luca

Luca · 04:55 AM

The problem was the second letter.
I think that it is an "r".
So it is possible that it is Hermann BRINKMANN, German artist, 1830-1902.
Isn't there in the right down corner something like a monogram? HB?
Luca

John · June 10th, 2011, 10:26 AM

Maybe, but I really can't see the "k" in that signature. I was thinking it could be "B. Gauermann" or "B. Graumann" or something, but I never found a likely match.

Luca · June 10th, 2011, 02:22 PM

Yes, really scrawl!
Luca

poppyjasper · June 15th, 2011, 09:05 PM

Thank you so very much, John and Luca, for your amazing sleuthing efforts and talent! I took your great information and scoured the Internet.

Could the artist possibly be Friedrich Gauermann, born in Austria in 1807? Or maybe his father, a painter and etcher, Jakob Gauermann, born in 1773?

I've attached an image of one of Friedrich's etchings,
"Ein Eber von Wolfen Angefallen", which I found online at
http://www.wilnitsky.com/scripts/red...tails?No=10514.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see a signature to compare.

Again, thank you for all of effort!

Sondra

John · June 16th, 2011, 01:55 AM

I've seen a lot of landscapes but am no expert, so take this with a grain of salt. To me the painting looks like High Realism from somewhere between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. There were a lot of talented German painters doing work like this, and also French painters like Jules Bastien-Lepage.

It actually looks more photorealistic than what I have seen of the Gauermanns`s works. Or even those of Caspar Friedrich or members of the Dusseldorf School of landscape painting. I would really suspect that the painting is late enough tho be influenced by the development of photography.

Not so likely given the provenance of the drawing, but it may also be American, from around the turn of the century, in which case I would say the spare and muted treatment of the landscape is influenced by Tonalism (which was a very popular movement, possibly the dominant style of the era, but is now largely forgotten).

Luca · June 16th, 2011, 03:55 AM

Hi Sondra,
there is a signature in the digipic you attached, lower left: "Fritz Gauermann".
It is very different to the siganture in your etching.
"Fritz" is an often used short form of "Friedrich".
I have attached another link, where you can see it a little bit clearer:
http://www.palais-kinsky.com/de/kuen... &meist=2.200
It surely is not Friedrich or Jakob Gauermann, sorry.
Luca

June 6th, 2011, 09:40 AM	#3
Luca Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 32	An etching? By looking at the signature digipic I think it is an etching. Luca

June 10th, 2011, 02:22 PM	#8
Luca Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 32	Yes, scrawl! Yes, really scrawl! Luca

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June 6th, 2011, 12:28 AM	#2
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,404	I believe the signature reads "B. Gccccccccccccc". Seriously, it's a wonderful drawing, but I can't begin to guess what the artist's name is.

June 10th, 2011, 10:26 AM	#7
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,404	Maybe, but I really can't see the "k" in that signature. I was thinking it could be "B. Gauermann" or "B. Graumann" or something, but I never found a likely match.

June 16th, 2011, 01:55 AM	#10
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,404	I've seen a lot of landscapes but am no expert, so take this with a grain of salt. To me the painting looks like High Realism from somewhere between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. There were a lot of talented German painters doing work like this, and also French painters like Jules Bastien-Lepage. It actually looks more photorealistic than what I have seen of the Gauermanns`s works. Or even those of Caspar Friedrich or members of the Dusseldorf School of landscape painting. I would really suspect that the painting is late enough tho be influenced by the development of photography. Not so likely given the provenance of the drawing, but it may also be American, from around the turn of the century, in which case I would say the spare and muted treatment of the landscape is influenced by Tonalism (which was a very popular movement, possibly the dominant style of the era, but is now largely forgotten).

June 16th, 2011, 03:55 AM	#11
Luca Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 32	Hi Sondra, there is a signature in the digipic you attached, lower left: "Fritz Gauermann". It is very different to the siganture in your etching. "Fritz" is an often used short form of "Friedrich". I have attached another link, where you can see it a little bit clearer: http://www.palais-kinsky.com/de/kuen... &meist=2.200 It surely is not Friedrich or Jakob Gauermann, sorry. Luca