1299 - STOSKOP, GUSTAVE JACQUES

STOSKOP, GUSTAVE JACQUES 1869 Brumath (Bas-Rhin)–1944 Brumath (Bas-Rhin) Title: Alsatian farmer with a pipe (Martin Zililox?). Date: 1943. Technique: Oil on panel. Measurement: 81 x 60cm. Notation: Signed and dated upper right: G. Stoskopf 1943. Reverse: On the panel inscribed by the artist, together with two labels referring to restoration carried out in December 1978 and a handwritten number. Frame: Framed. Since the 17th century, and particularly during the 19th and 20th century Alsace was a region fiercely fought over by the German Empire and France. Preserving a regional identity during such a period of shifting nationalities due to wars, legislation and languages is, on the one hand, difficult but on the other, arguably particularly necessary. For it is ‘self-awareness’ alone that can serve as an independent guiding principle amidst the turmoil of shifting national allegiances. Gustave Stoskopf was born in Alsace and made it his life’s work to preserve the region’s indigenous traditions, culture and language which were under threat. The son of a tanner decided to develop his artistic talent as a painter in 1887, first in Paris at the Académie Colarossi then at the Académie Julian. Partly due to the resentment he faced there as a citizen of Alsace (which at the time belonged to the German Empire), he spent a year at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. However, Stoskopf completed his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris before settling in Strasbourg in 1894. The young painter also possessed considerable skills in literature and organisation. He built up a network of contacts at the ‘Mehlkischt’ cabaret and the ‘Kunschthaafe’ artists’ social club, and in 1898 became a co-founder and, until 1940, director of the ‘Théâtre d’Alsace’ in Strasbourg. He wrote acclaimed plays in the local dialect and became the region’s most important playwright (nicknamed ‘the Alsatian Molière’). Gustave Stoskopf’s contributions to the Alsatian language and his work as a journalist (co-founder in 1909 and editor-in-chief of the 'Straßburger Neue Zeitung' until 1919, member of the management board of Radio-Strasbourg from 1930, and much more) were extraordinary and were honoured, amongst other things, with his appointment as a 'Ritter der Ehrenlegion' (‘Knight of the Legion of Honour’)(1930) and the ‘Médaille d’or de la Renaissance française’ (1939). Alongside his literary and journalistic activities, Gustave Stoskopf also produced an impressive body of work as a painter, with his portraits of peasants, which he began creating in the 1920s, standing out in particular. During the ‘New Objectivity’ period, inspired by the medieval, ‘primitive’ paintings of the Upper Rhine region, Gustave Stoskopf developed his very own, Old Master-style visual language. Initially, he depicted his subjects against a dark background, but over the years he gradually lightened it. Through extreme simplification combined with meticulous detail and radical perspectives, his portraits acquire a very special charm. It is a rare pleasure to be able to present two such portraits here. Gustav Stoskopf achieves a very similar effect in his ‘Portrait of a Peasant with a Pipe (Martin Zillox)’ from 1943, lot 1299. In this late work, however the painter omits all background details. Against a monochrome ivory-coloured background, the subject sits in strict profile to the left, sideways on a chair. It almost gives the impression that he is posing for a silhouette. In the immediate foreground the openwork back of the chair blocks the view, whilst still allowing the details of the black traditional costume to be seen. The farmer has placed his left arm over the back of the chair, resting the hand holding a long-stemmed pipe there. The subject fills the picture plane almost entirely, appearing very close to the viewer. Only narrow light-coloured strips separate him from the edge of the picture. His right hand resting on his knees is even cut off by the edge of the picture. The subject of this painting is known by name from other works by Gustave Stoskopf. It is Martin Zilliox, who is depicted here wearing the traditional costume of Oberseebach. This is what makes Stoskopf’s portraits of farmers so special: the simple farmers, as wearers of Alsatian traditional costumes, are accorded outstanding visual prominence they become monuments to their regional tradition. It is not the personalities of the ordinary farmers that he portrays. In their dignified austerity as wearing traditional Alsatian clothes they take on a remarkable visual significance; the subjects become monuments to a tradition that extends far beyond regional significance. Provenance: - Private ownership, Germany. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: The lot is unsuitable for parcel shipping. Transport only by shipping company after consultation following the auction. additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to