Wilhelm Leibl
Wilhelm Leibl (1844 Cologne - Würzburg 1900) - Skull with white cloth.
Oil on canvas, relined. (Circa 1868). 34.4 x 31.4 cm. Framed.
Waldmann 81 (2nd edition).
This small picture is one of three studies with skulls painted by Wilhelm Leibl towards the end of his time at the Academy - a variant dated 1868 is in the Karlsruhe Kunsthalle (inv. no. 1018). While other artists resorted to more subtle symbols of transience, Leibl, fully committed to realism, simply confronts us with a human skull. The white shroud has been lifted and, sharply illuminated, reveals a gruesomely grinning skull in three-quarter view. The human skull, perhaps an exhibit in an anatomical display collection, rests on a base wrapped in black fabric, which gives it back its upright posture in life, as if it were still fused to the torso via the cervical vertebrae. At the same time, this gives the depiction a portrait-like quality, creating the impression of a direct counterpart, which distinguishes this skull from the skulls in 17th century vanitas still lifes, which are seen as mere objects or remains.
Literature:
Emil Waldmann, Wilhelm Leibl: A representation of his art. Complete list of his paintings, 2nd edition, Berlin 1930, cat. no. 81.
Exhibition:
Wilhelm Leibl. paintings, drawings, etchings. Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, and Galerie Matthiesen, Berlin, Cologne-Berlin 1929, p. 43, cat. no. 29a;
One hundred years ago: Dänemark und Deutschland 1846-1900. Gegner und Nachbarn, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Kunstmuseum Århus, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Orangerie Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, 1981, p. 372, cat. no. 144 D, with illus., with the label of the shipping company on the back of the frame.
Provenance:
Johann Sperl (1840-1914), Munich;
Auction catalog 12 (?);
Hugo Helbing, Frankfurt am Main;
Galerie Heinemann, Munich, gallery labels with the no. "18265" on the stretcher and on the reverse of the frame, date of receipt: 16.11.1926;
Georg Schäfer Collection, Schweinfurt (inv. no. 0123), with the label on the stretcher;
Private collection, Southern Germany.
Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme)
