6117 - Ziegler, Karl

Ziegler, Karl Self-Portrait in a Transylvanian Festive Shirt with an Embroidered Neckcloth. Oil on canvas. 68.5 x 33.2 cm. Monogrammed “KZ [ligature]” in the lower right corner; on the reverse, on a slip of paper, likely inscribed in his own hand: “Professor Karl Ziegler / Königsberg / Dürer Str. 48 / Self-Portrait in a Transylvanian Peasant Shirt / Oil. Price 4,500 Mk.” Karl Ziegler belongs to that generation of Transylvanian artists who, through their studies at foreign academies, brought new influences from European art centers back to their home region. In Berlin, he studied under Waldemar Friedrich and Hugo Vogel and earned an excellent reputation as a portrait painter around the turn of the century. Exhibitions in Berlin, Brussels, and Paris, as well as being awarded the Gold Medal at the 1898 Berlin Exhibition, attest to his success at that time. In 1904, Ziegler was appointed to the newly founded Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Posen; beginning in 1921, he taught as a professor at the Königsberg Academy. Despite his many years of work outside Transylvania, Ziegler remained closely connected to his homeland throughout his life. This self-portrait, too, must be understood against this backdrop. By depicting himself in Transylvanian attire, Ziegler makes a deliberate statement of his cultural affiliation. The attire is not merely a folkloric detail but becomes an identity-defining element of the painting. The tight framing focuses attention on the face, posture, and clothing. At the same time, it reveals nothing of the artist’s imposing figure, which stood nearly two meters tall. Thus, the representative outward appearance is replaced by a conscious self-identification as a Transylvanian Saxon. Provenance: Private collection, Austria. Private collection, Brandenburg. - Please request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not listed in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.