Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Friedrich August Seitz
Half-length portrait of an elderly bearded man - Melancholy of a prophet -

1926

About the Item

Friedrich August Seitz (1902 Staffort - 1944 Belgrade). Half-length portrait of an elderly man with a beard. Oil on canvas, 42 x 34 cm (visible seize), 58 x 50 cm (frame), signed and dated lower left "Aug. Seitz. 1926". In an Art Nouveau frame with gilt stucco and black lacquered moulding. - Melancholy of a prophet - About the artwork The head shown is not the portrait of a real person, but aims at a much more general dimension of meaning that transcends the individual person. Such expressive heads were called 'tronies' in the Netherlands from the 16th century onwards and flourished in the 17th century. But they go back much further, to the sculptural rows of apostles and prophets in Gothic cathedrals. And it is precisely to these that Friedrich August Seitz refers. The head, which is shown in a slight top view and appears almost gaunt, looks like a prophet's head with its flowing white beard. This is reinforced by the deeply shadowed eye area, which refers to the topos of the 'blind seer'. The head is given a particular liveliness by the light colours and the loose application of paint, which at first glance seem to counteract the darkness of the prophecy, and by which the picture follows in the footsteps of the art of Frans Hals and Max Liebermann. The head seems to materialise directly from the paint, which has been applied with the greatest virtuosity, while the brushwork around the head and the apparently untreated ground enliven the figuratively undefined surface. The concretion of the head, however, culminates in the shadowed eye area, which repeatedly draws the eye to itself and thus to the invisible. In this way, Friedrich August Seitz manages to revive the ancient theme of the prophets in a highly expressive way, using the same painterly means as Frans Hals and Max Liebermann used for their predominantly profane subjects. About the artist Friedrich August Seitz studied at the Karlsruhe Art Academy under Prof. August Babberger from 1923 to 1927. After his studies he worked as a fashion draughtsman for Schöpflin in Hagen and then as a technical draughtsman for the Badische Landesvermessung in Karlsruhe. He was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1939 and died on a train to Belgrade in 1944. GERMAN VERSION Friedrich August Seitz (1902 Staffort - 1944 Belgrad). Brustbild eines älteren bärtigen Mannes. Öl auf Leinwand, 42 x 34 cm (Innemaß), 58 x 50 cm (Rahmen), links unten signiert und datiert „Aug. Seitz. 1926“. Im Jugendstil-Rahmen mit Goldstuck und schwarz gelackter Leiste. - Die Melancholie eines Propheten - zum Werk Der dargestellte Kopf ist nicht das Porträt einer realen Person, sondern zielt auf eine die individuelle Person übersteigende, weit allgemeinere Bedeutungsdimension. Solche Ausdrucksköpfe wurden seit dem 16. Jahrhundert in den Niederlanden als „Tronies“ bezeichnet und erlebten insbesondere im 17. Jahrhundert eine Blütezeit. Sie reichen jedoch viel weiter bis zu den skulpturalen Apostel- und Prophetenreihen der gotischen Kathedralen zurück. Und eben diesen Bezug stellt Friedrich August Seitz her. Der in leichter Aufsicht gezeigte, beinahe hager wirkende Kopf mutet mit seinem wallenden weißen Bart wie ein Prophetenkopf an. Dies wird noch zusätzlich durch die tief verschattete Augenpartie verstärkt, die sich auf den Topos des ‚blinden Sehers‘ bezieht. Eine besondere Lebendigkeit gewinnt der Kopf vermittels der die Dunkelheit der Prophetie auf den ersten Blick geradewegs konterkarierenden hellen Farbigkeit und dem lockeren Farbauftrag, durch welche das Bild in die Nachfolge der Kunst eines Frans Hals und Max Liebermann tritt. Durch den mit größter Virtuosität erfolgten Farbauftrag scheint sich der Kopf geradewegs aus der Farbe heraus zu materialisieren, während um den Kopf herum der Pinselduktus und der unbehandelt anmutende Malgrund die gegenständlich nicht näher bestimmte Bildfläche beleben. Die Konkretion des Kopfes kulminiert aber nun gerade in der den Blick immer wieder auf sich ziehenden verschatteten Augenpartie und damit in dem, was nicht sichtbar ist. Auf diese Weise gelingt es Friedrich August Seitz durch malerische Mittel, wie sie bei Frans Hals und Max Liebermann in ihren vorwiegend profanen Sujets vor Augen stehen, das alte Thema der Prophetendarstellungen auf eine äußerst expressive Weise zu revitalisieren. zum Künstler Friedrich August Seitz besuchte unter Prof. August Babberger von 1923 bis 1927 die Kunstakademie Karlsruhe. Nach dem Studium war er zunächst als Modezeichner bei Schöpflin in Hagen tätig und dann als technischer Zeichner bei der Badischen Landesvermessung in Karlsruhe angestellt. 1939 zur Wehrmacht einberufen, verstarb er 1944 auf einer Zugfahrt nach Belgrad.
  • Creator:
    Friedrich August Seitz (1902 - 1944, German)
  • Creation Year:
    1926
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Width: 13.39 in (34 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Berlin, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2438212325652
More From This SellerView All
  • Two countrywomen with a donkey - Melancholy in an atmosphere of colour -
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Pierre Louis De La Rive (1753 Geneva - 1817 Geneva). Two countrywomen with a donkey. Oil on canvas, mounted, 27 x 20 cm (visible size), 37 x 31 (frame), monogrammed "P.R." at lower right. About the artwork De La Rive has taken the typical scenes of Dutch landscape genre paintings...
    Category

    1790s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Autumn Landscape in Sunlight - Indian Summer -
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Frederick Vezin (1859 Torresdale Philadelphia - 1933 Düsseldorf), Autumn Landscape in the Sunlight, oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard, 32 x 41 cm (inside measurement), 44 x 51 cm (...
    Category

    Early 1900s Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Cardboard

  • Landscape with Trees by a Lake - Eternal summer silence over an abysmal lake -
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Andreas Thomas Juuel (1816 Copenhagen - 1868 Copenhagen). Summer landscape with tall deciduous trees by a lake. Oil on canvas, 54,5 x 42 cm (visible size), 71 x 58 cm (frame), signed...
    Category

    1850s Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Children with geese in the light of a summer evening
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Magda Kremer (*1942 Hengelo), Children with geese in the light of a summer evening. Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm (inside measurement), 52 x 62 cm (frame), signed by hand with "M.[agda] ...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • The gift of flowers
    By Conrad Kiesel
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Conrad Kiesel (1846-1921), The gift of flowers. Oil on wood, 43 x 35 cm, 69 x 61 cm (frame), signed at lower left "Conrad Kiesel pxt [pinxit]", about 1900. In a magnificent gilt stuc...
    Category

    1890s Academic Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Mary Magdalene - Faith transforms inner into outer beauty and conquers death -
    By Balthasar Denner
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Balthasar Denner (1685 Hamburg - 1749 Rostock). Mary Magdalene. Oil on copper, 37 × 32 cm (visible size), 45 x 40 cm (frame), signed and indistinctly dated "Denner 17(...)" at centre...
    Category

    1720s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Copper

You May Also Like
  • Expressionist Judaica Rabbis Oil Painting Jewish American WPA Modernist Ben Zion
    By Ben-Zion Weinman
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Rabbinical Discussion Hand signed lower left. Provenance: bears label verso for Summit Gallery Dimensions: H 14.25" x W 8" Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolph Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. He worked as a WPA artist. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Rabbi, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Mystical Imprints: Marc Chagall, Ben-Zion, and Ben Shahn presents the print work of three prominent 20th century Jewish artists born in the Russian Empire. Among these seventy pieces are etchings and lithographs from Chagall’s Bible series...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Wood Panel

  • "Self-Portrait with Pink Hat" Oil On Canvas 28"x28" by Betsy Podlach
    By Betsy Podlach
    Located in Carmel, CA
    Betsy - 'Self-Portrait with Pink Hat. 2021 Some of Betsy's paintings were printed on apparel at Marni 2019 Milan Fashion Show. THE NEW YORK TIMES: "IN BETSY’S SENSUAL PORTRAITS, I...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 'Portrait Of An Old Man’ Contemporary Natural Colors Oil On Canvas By Leviathan
    By David Leviathan
    Located in Carmel, CA
    David Leviathan, an Israeli born artist who worked mainly in Holland, is widely known amongst European art collectors. His works are exhibited in several museums in Holland and Fran...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • ‘Self Portrait And Red Lips’Contemporary Figurative By Betsy Podlach
    By Betsy Podlach
    Located in Carmel, CA
    Betsy - 'Self-Portrait with Red lips. 2021 Some of Betsy's paintings were printed on apparel at Marni 2019 Milan Fashion Show. THE NEW YORK TIMES: "IN BETSY’S SENSUAL PORTRAITS, I...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • "Botanica" Oil Painting 20" x 14" inch by Andrey Remnev
    Located in Culver City, CA
    "Botanica" Oil Painting 20" x 14" inch by Andrey Remnev ARTIST BIO: "My birth place is Yakhroma town, in the vicinity of Moscow. It is situated on high hills, from where broad Bruegelian vistas are open. The uneven terrain with significant differences of high and low; a canal between the Moskva river and the Volga; small rivers, woods and villages; a nearby ancient town of Dmitrov, which is equal to Moscow in age; ships cruising the canal and trains outdistancing them – all this I saw from my window since my early years. It was a view that embraced all the diversity of the world. This is why I can say that the impressions of my childhood and youth – beautiful nature and remarkable people – are the most important ones. In the museum of Moscow's St. Andronic Monastery I copied the best examples of the old Russian painting...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • "With thoughts about…" Oil Painting 39" x 31" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
    Located in Culver City, CA
    "With thoughts about…" Oil Painting 39" x 31" inch by c Year: 2009 Size framed: 44" x 36" inch
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

Recently Viewed

View All