Heinrich Bürkel, 1802 Pirmasens – 1869 München

LANDSCAPE WITH WORKERS AT A QUARRY Oil on cardboard. 29 x 51 cm. Verso inscribed label with confirmation of authenticity by the grandson of Heinrich Bürkel, with signature. Framed behind glass. Sketch-like painting with a view from an elevated vantage point of sloping terrain with a brightly lit quarry, with workers and a horse-drawn cart in between. On the right, a view of the valley floor. Virtuoso and loose brushwork in the typical manner of the preliminary sketches. The artist was a Biedermeier painter who mainly painted landscapes and depictions of folk life in the Alps. From 1824, he was one of the first and most important members of the newly founded Munich Art Association, which enabled him to exhibit his paintings independently of the academy. He also traveled to Italy several times and sometimes stayed there for up to two years. His friends in the mid-19th century included Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885) and Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868).(13706711) (11)