1472 - Edward Cucuel (1875 San Francisco – 1954 Pasadena)

Edward Cucuel (1875 San Francisco – 1954 Pasadena) A Summer Day at the Lake with a Young, Elegant Lady in a Rowing Boat A large-format, Impressionist work created around 1915–1920 by the American painter, who worked in Germany for many years. Executed with a loose brushstroke and an accentuating palette knife technique, this painting captures the overall mood through a thick, impasto application of paint. The subject, style, and cheerful impression of this painting are typical of a series of works that Cucuel created at Lake Ammersee and Lake Starnberg. There, he often painted young women in summer attire, bathers, and nudes in boats or on the lakeshores, carefree as they enjoy their time, gazing dreamily into the distance, and so on; The light color scheme, characterized by a luminous overall tone, clearly reveals the influence of German and French Impressionism. Cucuel attended the San Francisco Art Academy and the Académie Julian, the Académie Colarossi, and the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris. In 1902, Cucuel was represented at the National Art Exhibition in Düsseldorf, and in 1904 at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. In 1907, Cucuel moved to Munich, which marked a turning point in both his artistic and personal life. From 1909 to 1913, Cucuel became the foremost student of Leo Putz, the leading figure of the Munich artists’ association “Die Scholle,” with whom he spent four years at Hartmannsberg Castle on Lake Chiemsee and who had a lasting influence on him. This painting, too, is still visibly influenced by Leo Putz. In 1912, he submitted work to the Munich Secession exhibition for the first time; at the same time, he exhibited at the Paris Salon. In 1915, he submitted work to the World’s Fair in San Francisco (where he received a silver medal), and from 1915 to 1924, he regularly exhibited at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. At the same time, beginning in 1912, his works received increasing attention in magazines such as “Die Kunst für alle” and “The Studio,” and were often featured on the covers of “Jugend.” Oil on canvas; signed lower left; Also signed twice on the back of the stretcher; 100 cm x 90.5 cm. Framed. General literature: Fritz v. Ostini: “Der Maler Edward Cucuel,” Zurich, Vienna, and Leipzig: Amalthea-Verlag 1924; Vollmer, vol. 1, p. 500. Oil on canvas. Signed. Further signed twice on the canvas stretcher.