Engel - Dämmerung (Lotsenhaus)

Engel, Otto Heinrich (Erbach 1866 - 1949 Glücksburg). Twilight. (Pilot house in Ekensund). Oil on canvas. Ekensund, 1893. Signed and dated lower right. 51.5 x 64 cm. Framed (frame with minor abrasions) - Main catalog 36; catalog raisonné 35 - Otto H. Engel is considered one of the pioneers of avant-garde modern painting in Germany. He was a co-founder of the Berlin Secession. Among other things, his visit to Ekensund was significant for the artist's development - 'Engel, from a letter, July 30, 1893, Ekensund: Right at eight in the evening I left with a frame to paint a twilight study. It is now a popular problem for most young painters to study the color tones of twilight. And since the northern location of Ekensund has a long-lasting twilight at this time of year, it is also my hot endeavor to solve this problem. I saw the house of Chronika, the popular boatman and pilot, softly lit by the evening light, with the smithy next to it a little way back. This is usually where the neighbors and a lively crowd of children and various dogs gather in the evening. It was like that today too, but I didn't let it disturb my artistic enthusiasm in the slightest and began to paint merrily until I really couldn't see anything anymore'.- Verso on the canvas with large handwritten number: '36'.