6763 - Doll, Anton

Doll, Anton Marienplatz in Munich, viewed from the east, featuring the Old Town Hall. Watercolor over pencil; on the reverse, a quick pencil sketch of Munich’s Siegestor. 37.7 x 47.8 cm. Handwritten labels on the backing board, inscribed in old pen as “Ant. Doll.” and “The Market Square in Munich.” Circa 1853. Anton Doll’s watercolor depicts the old Marienplatz in Munich with the Marian Column, erected in 1638 under Elector Maximilian I; on the left edge of the picture are the so-called “Landschaftshäuser,” which were demolished in 1867 to make way for the new Neo-Gothic New City Hall. Behind the Fish Fountain—which was redesigned in the Neo-Gothic style beginning in 1862—stands the so-called Schaitler House, named after the merchant Ferdinand Schaitler, who owned a cloth shop here (today the Beck department store “am Rathauseck”). The main subject of this vividly colored print is the view of the Old City Hall with the Talburg Gate (also known as the City Hall Tower). Constructed beginning in 1470, the building underwent several renovations. Around 1625, the façade was given a Baroque makeover, and the Town Hall Tower was topped with an onion dome. In 1778–79, Augustin Demmel redesigned the west façade in the Late Baroque style. From 1861 to 1864, the Old Town Hall was restored in the Gothic style by Arnold Zenetti and received its multi-tiered crenellated gable, which remains its defining feature to this day. To the right of the Talburg Gate, one can still make out the dome of the Church of the Holy Spirit at the Viktualienmarkt. An almost identical, though smaller version (25 x 29 cm) of our watercolor, featuring different figurative elements, signed by Anton Doll and dated 1853, was offered on the German auction market 13 years ago. - Please request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not specified in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.