6807 - Allers, Christian Wilhelm

Allers, Christian Wilhelm Cupid enthroned on clouds within a wreath of roses. Watercolor over graphite and gray pencil, partially highlighted in white, on paper, mounted on cardboard along the outer edges. 102.5 x 73 cm. Signed and dated “C. W. Allers 1913 Christchurch N 3” in the lower right; bears the embossed stamp of the paper manufacturer Schoellershammer in the lower left; the artist’s signature (stamped?) appears on the back of the cardboard. Not every journey is undertaken of one’s own free will. Not every traveler seeks rest and pleasure. For some journeys are an escape, and some travelers are driven by circumstance. When the Krupp scandal shook the Wilhelmine Empire in 1902, the Hamburg artist Christian Wilhelm Allers found himself in the midst of the storm. The Berlin newspaper *Vorwärts* had claimed that not only the Villa Krupp but also the Villa Allers on Capri had been “the scene of wild orgies.” To avoid prosecution in Italy for homosexuality, Allers fled Capri in a hurry and traveled around the world a total of nine times over the next 10 years. In 1913, Christchurch, New Zealand, was also on Allers’ itinerary. A large watercolor entitled “Smoking Boys”—with dimensions nearly identical to those of the sheet we offered in our 2020 auction (see Bassenge, Auction 115, Lot 6854)—was also created in 1913 in Christchurch. Provenance: Private collection, Baden-Württemberg. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.