3060 - ADOLF DIETRICH

ADOLF DIETRICH (1877 Berlingen 1957) Berlingen mit Pappeln vom See aus. 1927. Oil on board. Signed, dated and inscribed lower left: Ad. Dietrich 1927 1906 –. 35 × 110.5 cm. Provenance: - Private collection, Switzerland. - Auction Christie's Zurich, 21 March 2000, lot 133. - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired at the above auction. - By descent to the present private collection, Switzerland. Exhibited: Mannheim 1927, Adolf Dietrich, Galerie 'Kunsthaus' Dr Tannenbaum, 18 September – 20 October 1927 (verso with label). Literature: Heinrich Ammann and Christoph Vögele: Adolf Dietrich. Œuvrekatalog der Ölbilder and Aquarelle, Zurich 1994, p. 206, no. 1927.23 (ill.). In 'Berlingen mit Pappeln', Adolf Dietrich created an exceptional panoramic view of his home village on the Untersee. The unusually wide composition depicts the village from the water, with its distinctive church, closely packed houses and towering poplars. The rich green of the lake, the brilliant blue of the sky and the carefully rendered clouds lend a particular freshness to this detailed view. The painting's history is closely connected with Dietrich's artistic breakthrough. In 1922, the Mannheim gallery owner Dr Herbert Tannenbaum, regarded as the artist's discoverer, organised Dietrich's first solo exhibition at his gallery, 'Das Kunsthaus'. Its great success, particularly in Germany, led to growing demand for his paintings. Dietrich consequently returned to earlier compositions, reworking this view of 1906 for another exhibition at Tannenbaum's gallery in autumn 1927. The double date '1927 / 1906' and the mounting of the work on an additional sheet of board at that time, to provide stability, bear witness to this process. The work combines Dietrich's close observation of his familiar surroundings with a sweeping composition. The unusual view from the lake gives this depiction of his home village its distinctive character.