1371 - Gabriel von Max

Gabriel von Max Renunciation (Entsagung) Oil on canvas. 52.5 x 42.2 cm. Framed under glass. Signed lower right: G. v. Max Titled lower left: Entsagung. Provenance D.-Heinemann'sche Kunsthandlung, Munich, 1903. - For several generations in private collection, Germany. Exhibitions Exposition des Beaux-Arts, D.-Heinemann'sche Kunsthandlung, Munich/ Nice 1903, no. 125. Literature Munich, Nice 1903: Exposition des Beaux-Arts, D. Heinemann, Munich 1903, no. 125, p. 18, ill. p. [25] The painter Gabriel von Max first became known for his depictions of female martyrs and other tragic female figures, before later turning his attention to the occult, Darwinism and the ‘monkey paintings’ that are so famous today. ‘Renunciation’ appears before us in the figure of Ophelia: with a wreath of flowers in her hair and a melancholic gaze. In the second half of the 19th century, there was considerable literary and artistic interest in Shakespeare’s works. Ophelia evolved from a purely illustrative theatrical character into an icon of female emotional distress and, indeed, of the very ‘renunciation’ that gives this work its title. This work is thus characteristic of Gabriel von Max’s “soul painting” style. It was exhibited as early as 1903 in Munich and Nice. The reddish-blonde model with delicate, pale skin and blue eyes also appears in his paintings “Aurora”, “Melancholy” and “Traviata” (cf. J. Johnen: A Woman Consumed by Emotion, in: S. M. Barutcieff (ed.): Depicting Emotions in East and Central Europe (1400–1900). Pisa 2024, pp. 131–147.)