1455 - Philipp Franck (1860 Frankfurt am Main – 1944 Berlin-Wannsee)

Philipp Franck (1860 Frankfurt am Main – 1944 Berlin-Wannsee) Forest Interior With a loose brushstroke and, at times, luminous colors, the Impressionist captures in this late work, created in 1940, the closely interwoven rhythm of the densely clustered conifers, the light, and the colors. Franck was appointed to the Royal Art School in Berlin in 1892 and was one of the co-founders of the Berlin Secession in 1898, participating regularly in its exhibitions. Under the influence of his friend Max Liebermann, who also lived on the Wannsee, he turned to Impressionism. His new perspective on the play of light and atmosphere led him to a fresh painting technique, which found particular expression in his motifs of the Havel and the Wannsee. From 1915 to 1929, Franck served as director of the Royal Art School—renamed the State Art School of Berlin in 1918—which he significantly reformed. From around 1930 onward, tree and forest motifs increasingly appeared in his oeuvre, most of which he observed in the immediate vicinity. Watercolor on paper. Signed lower left and dated 1940 with a dedication to “s(eine). l(iebe). Frau.” 63 cm x 48 cm (mat cutout). Framed. Provenance: From the dissolution of a private collection in Berlin. Watercolor on paper. Signed and dated 1940 with a dedication to his wife.