1377 - Johann Sperl (1840, Buch near Fürth – 1914, Bad Aibling)

Johann Sperl (1840, Buch near Fürth – 1914, Bad Aibling) "In the Arbor" (also titled "Girl on the Bench") The painting depicts a tranquil scene in a densely overgrown arbor, where a Bavarian peasant girl in traditional dress sits on a bench, lost in her own thoughts, gazing at several chickens and a proud rooster. Although the painting was likely created around 1886–1890 in Bad Aibling, it is by no means a purely atmospheric genre painting in the strict sense, but is characterized by a striking realism in the depiction of the peasant girl. Added to this is an almost Impressionist rendering of light, which manifests itself in distinct highlights. This painting is presumably identical to the one that Sperl exhibited in 1892 under the title “In der Laube” at the International Art Exhibition in the Glaspalast (cat. no. 1636; Boetticher, vol. II/2, no. 20). Sperl first completed an apprenticeship as a lithographer and took drawing courses at the Nuremberg School of Applied Arts before he was finally able to begin his long-awaited studies at the Munich Academy in 1865. As early as his first year of study in 1865, he met Wilhelm Leibl, with whom he formed a close friendship from then on. Leibl adhered to the principle of not painting “types,” but rather, in a captivating manner, real-life peasants whom he depicted as faithfully as possible from life, along with peasant parlors and landscapes. Those who followed him down this path, such as his friend Sperl, also had to contend with rejection and the established art market’s indifference. In 1878, Sperl moved with Leibl to Berbling (now a district of Bad Aibling), in 1879 he met Max Liebermann, likely through Leibl (who had defended Liebermann and his early painting “The Twelve-Year-Old Jesus in the Temple” against criticism). In the early 1880s, Sperl began to engage more and more deeply with landscape painting. In 1883, Sperl finally moved with Leibl into Leibl’s newly built studio in Bad Aibling. Oil on canvas; signed lower right with the location “Munich.” 43 cm x 29 cm. Framed. Bibliography/Catalog Numbers/Exhibitions: Cat. “Johann Sperl 1840–1914. Memorial Exhibition Marking the 150th Anniversary of His Birth,” Städtische Galerie Rosenheim, cat. no. 46, ill. color plate 7; Werner Moritz: “Johann Sperl 1840–1914,” Rosenheim 1990, cat. no. 147, p. 101, ill. color plate 45; Werner Moritz: “Johann Sperl on the 150th Anniversary of His Birth” (On the exhibition at the Rosenheim Municipal Gallery), in “Weltkunst,” Oct. 15, 1990, pp. 3335–3339, color ill. p. 3338; Cat. “From Courbet to Schuch (...),” Kunstmuseum Hohenkarpfen and Stadtmuseum Hüfingen 2016, cat. no. 434, ill. color plate p. 77. Oil on canvas. Signed with the location “Munich.” Mentioned in the catalogue raisonné.