Lot number 2106 - Auction 150
FETTE BEUTE

FELIX SCHLESINGER 1833 Hamburg - 1910 Hamburg / Munich FAT CATCH Oil on canvas, relined. 34 x 41 cm (frame 63 x 70.5 cm). Signed lower right 'F. Schlesinger'. Original frame. Before us unfolds a touching scene: a boy and a girl sitting by the shore, pulling a fish out of the water with a fishing rod. Thanks to the artist's mastery and psychological sensitivity, the viewer can almost physically feel their sincere joy. Special attention is deserved by the lovingly rendered details: worn shoes with loose laces, varied fabric textures, rough stone blocks on which the children sit, and the wet pebbles on the shore. Water, shoreline grass, and sky are depicted more schematically, which enhances the focus on the figures. With great painterly virtuosity, a light-filled and airy atmosphere is created. It seems the scene takes place in the late afternoon - shadows deepen, the air becomes clearer, and the colors gain brightness and intensity. In the background, the gray sky announces an approaching thunderstorm, adding dramatic tension to the scene. This painting embodies everything we value in 19th-century genre painting: empathetic observation of everyday life, warm portrayal of the figures, and love for detail. Felix Schlesinger began his artistic training in Hamburg with F. Heimerdinger from 1848 to 1850. From 1850 to 1851, he studied at the Düsseldorf Academy, completed a study trip to Antwerp, and from 1852 to 1854 was a private pupil of Rudolf Jordan. During this time, he traveled through northern Germany. Later, he worked in Paris, lived in Bockenheim from 1861 to 1863, and finally settled in Munich in 1863. He specialized in genre studies of rural and bourgeois life with humor and attention to detail, often depicting children, elderly people, and pets in the style of the Düsseldorf School. Some of his works have social-historical significance, for example, on the topic of emigration. His style shows the influence of Jordan and the Munich School, especially Franz von Defregger. Schlesinger exhibited in Berlin, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Munich, and Vienna. His paintings were very popular thanks to numerous reproductions in illustrated magazines. Source: Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule 1819-1918, Bruckmann. Provenance: Private collection, Dusseldorf. Art dealer, Winsen.