Hans Thoma

Hans Thoma (1839 Bernau - Karlsruhe 1924) - Landscape on the Upper Rhine. Oil and tempera on canvas. 1916. 50.3 x 75.5 cm. Monogrammed and dated in ligature lower right. Framed. Not with Thode. With painterly foresight, Thoma guides the viewer's gaze over the gentle hilly landscape of a river valley meandering into the background. In their simplicity, Thoma's landscapes invite us to reflect and pause, suddenly nothing is random anymore, everything seems to be subordinated to a higher meaning. Here, too, the viewer initially imagines a sequence of bends in the Rhine, thinks he recognizes towers and the meandering course of the river, only to realize once again that this is an idealized landscape reminiscent of an untouched Arcadia. The white spotted sea of flowers in the foreground only turns out to be a flock of sheep at second glance. On the left, meanwhile, the shepherd and his wife have settled on a hill overlooking the meandering river as far as the horizon. Above all, however, it is once again Thoma's color palette that lends the summer landscape its very own magic: whether as a pure blue outline, as a watery light blue or as green mixed with yellow for the lush meadows, the countless nuances of blue that Thoma repeatedly draws on are revealed here. Thoma's river landscape is the image of a pre-modern idyll that invites the viewer to tie up his boat, get out and rest, if only for a brief moment. Provenance: Paul Hartmann (?); thereafter in southern German family ownership. Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme)