3006 - ROBERT ZÜND

ROBERT ZÜND (1827 Lucerne 1909) View of the Rigi with Grazing Cows. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left: R. Zünd. 61 × 80 cm. Provenance: - Private collection, Switzerland. - Thence by descent to the present owner. Robert Zünd’s life and artistic career were closely tied to Lucerne and its surroundings. The familiar landscapes of central Switzerland provided the inspiration for his idealized views of nature, which he composed based on meticulous studies made from life. This painting is distinguished by its sophisticated arrangement of successive planes, guiding the eye across Lake Lucerne toward the Rigi. While the trees and grazing cows in the foreground are rendered with great precision, the distant mountains dissolve into a delicate pink haze. Zünd’s carefully developed painting technique was also crucial to these subtle transitions and the remarkable sense of depth. Probably through the use of transparent glazes and varnishes—some tinted with color—he achieved delicate tonal gradations that give his landscapes their characteristic depth and luminosity. Correspondence between Robert Zünd and Rudolf Koller reveals that both artists took a keen interest in the latest painting techniques of their day. In doing so, they looked to the great masters of the Renaissance and 17th-century Dutch landscape painting.