1158 - BEWER, CLEMENS

BEWER, CLEMENS 1820 Aachen–1884 Bonn Title: Two Paintings: Self-Portrait of the Artist / Portrait of His Wife, Berta Maria Bewer. Date: 1882 / 1865. Technique: Each: oil on canvas. Dimensions: 65 x 53 cm / 79 x 63 cm. Inscription: Each signed and dated upper right/lower right: Cl. Bewer AE.S. 62 1882. / C. Bewer 1865. Reverse: On the stretcher of the portrait of the artist’s wife are handwritten details about the subject, as well as a handwritten label reading “Clemens.” Frame: Each is framed. Following the tremendous success our auction house enjoyed last year with Clemens Bewer’s impressive painting “Loreley on the Rock,” it is a great pleasure that the artist’s descendants have now entrusted us with a series of paintings depicting his family life: A characteristic self-portrait by Clemens Bewer and a portrait he painted of his wife Berta (born 1836) at the age of 31 are lot no. 1158. Lot no. 1159 features portraits of the couple’s three children: Rudolf (born 1855), Maria Theresia (born 1858), and Lothar (born 1860). These individually painted canvases, framed together, are particularly striking thanks to the appeal of the unifying background. An earlier painting (lot no. 1160) depicts the eldest son, Rudolf, as a child holding a book. Although these portraits of children are unsigned, Clemens Bewer’s style is clearly recognizable here. A painting of a young man who is as yet unknown (lot no. 1161) cannot be attributed with certainty to Clemens Bewer, even though the model bears a vague resemblance to Rudolf Bewer when compared with the portraits of the children. Lot No. 1162 is directly related to the work “Loreley on the Rock,” which was recently auctioned here. This small-scale work largely corresponds to the final version of the painting but should probably be regarded as a sketch. Another Loreley study is lot no. 1163. In it, Clemens Bewer has already captured, in a highly concentrated manner, the introspective, tragic expression of one who suffers from the curse of her beauty. A study that is also very appealing in its unfinished state—the profile of a gray-haired man—bears lot no. 1164. It seems a feasible research task to identify the work by Clemens Bewer to which this study head can be attributed. Carl Bewer, who was born in Aachen, began his training in 1837 at the Düsseldorf Academy under Carl Ferdinand Sohn. In 1841, he went to Paris, where he continued his studies under the leading history painter Paul Delaroche and the portraitist Ary Scheffer. When Bewer returned to Düsseldorf in 1847, he continued his studies under Wilhelm von Schadow and quickly became part of the artistic community. Bewer became a member, and later also president, of the Malkasten artists’ association and the Düsseldorf Artists’ Cooperative; in 1869, he was awarded the title of professor at the city’s art academy. Clemens Bewer primarily painted works with literary—and occasionally religious—themes, which he sold on the emerging art market both nationally and internationally. His works are characterized by their sense of materiality and his great talent as a colorist. From the 1870s onward, Clemens Bewer also earned an outstanding reputation as a portraitist. Provenance: - From the artist’s family estate. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: This lot is not suitable for parcel shipping. Transport is available only through a shipping company after consultation following the auction. Additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: max. 41.65 euros For a total invoice amount exceeding 25,000 Euros: 1.8 per thousand Shipping to the USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Clemens Bewer #Düsseldorf School #Historical Painting #Germany #19th C. #Artist's Portrait #Self-portrait #Paintings.