Lot number 2056 - Auction 150
HOCHZEIT AUF DEM LANDE

JULIUS SCHOLTZ 1825 Breslau - 1893 Dresden WEDDING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE Oil on canvas. 99.5 x 140 cm (F: 122 x 161 cm). Signed and dated bottom left: 'Julius Scholtz 1851'. Restored. Frame with brass nameplate inscribed and titled 'German Wedding'. Proudly, the newlywed couple leaves the wedding church, surrounded closely by a joyful wedding party gathered at the entrance. Flower children and musicians accompany the spouses on their way to a happy future. Julius Scholtz takes us on a journey back to the year 1851, when the Kingdom of Saxony experienced strong population growth and Dresden rose to become a major German city. The scene provides an idyllic counterpoint to this development. The consistent quality of Scholtz's detailed genre paintings made him one of the most important artistic figures of the city. Hans Posse even described him as the "most significant figure of pictorial realism in Dresden after Rayski." With Wedding in the Countryside we now present one of the artist's main works, whose oeuvre is primarily held in public collections. Works by Scholtz rarely come onto the market. The painting demonstrates Scholtz's full academic mastery in the lively depiction and varied rendering of faces. Provenance: Rhineland private collection.