4137 - Erich Dietz, Farmstead behind Trees

Erich Dietz, Farmstead behind Trees in the foreground, several trees; to the right, an old farmstead with a white façade and red roof; further buildings visible behind the group of trees; a heavily impastoed, relief-like and expressive depiction; the subject is likely from the Altenburg area (a comparable painting is in the Lindenau Museum in Altenburg, where the village is labelled as Haselbach), oil on painting board, monogrammed ‘ED’ in the bottom left-hand corner, minor signs of ageing, in a slightly dented gilded frame, inner dimensions 47.5 x 63.5 cm. Artist information: Thuringian painter (1903 in Zissendorf - 1990 in Plottendorf near Altenburg), initially a worker at the Meuselwitz porcelain factory; from 1925 to 1929 a student at the HBK Weimar under Richard Engelmann and Fritz Feigler; was inspired by the legacy of the Bauhaus; from 1945 a freelance artist in the Altenburg area, from 1948 curator at the Altenburg Castle Museum; later formed a studio partnership with the sculptor Annemarie Hase; in addition to painting, he also worked as a ceramist; his works regularly explore the landscape of his native Altenburg region. Source: General Artists’ Encyclopaedia Online.