UCLA, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts

Landscape Prints and Drawings Collection

Landscape Prints and Drawings Collection

Summary

Creators:
Various
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA. [Item credit line, if given]

Background

Scope and content:

Since its founding in 1956 the Grunwald Center has acquired a formidable number of landscape prints and drawings dating from the Renaissance to the present. A 1988 bequest of more than 850 landscape prints and drawings from the collection of Los Angeles architect Rudolf L. Baumfeld significantly enhanced this wide-ranging and well-studied thematic area. Given its many strengths, the Baumfeld Bequest is a fitting locus for a brief examination of landscape art in the Center's collection.

Throughout its history, landscape art has encompassed diverse documentary, emotional, and aesthetic responses to nature, recording perhaps more clearly than any other genre of the visual arts the relationship between society and the environment. As noted in the exhibition catalogue, The Rudolf L. Baumfeld Collection of Landscape Drawings and Prints, the major strengths of the collection lie within the most fertile periods of landscape art, particularly the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, the eighteenth to early twentieth century in Britain, and the nineteenth century in France. A number of individual artists are well represented, including Claude Lorrain, Rembrandt van Rijn, Canaletto, Samuel Palmer, Edward Lear, Charles Meryon, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and Graham Sutherland. In general, however, Baumfeld's acquisitions were consistently varied, and during any given month his records reveal purchases representing widely disparate historical periods and regional schools.

Throughout all periods represented, most works are pure landscapes or feature architectural ruins or urban views, suggesting that Baumfeld's primary interest was landscape representation as the subject of a work of art, not as a background setting for narrative subjects. One is tempted to look for a particular orientation on the part of the collector, and certainly the omission of certain types of landscapes that depict nature at its most spectacular--the works of Salvator Rosa and John Martin, for example--might lead one to suggest that the collection is oriented toward a more rational and harmonious view of nature, an idea supported by its numerous cityscapes, the ultimate expression of a civilized landscape. This suggestion is dispelled by the breadth of the collection, however, which indicates that the collector's intention was to develop a comprehensive view of landscape representation, showing how artists of diverse periods and nationalities expressed their experience of nature.

For this finding aid, the presentation of selected landscape prints and drawings from the Baumfeld bequest is complemented by additional landscape art in the Center's holdings. The works are arranged by artist nationality and period. Extended notes for works in the Baumfeld bequest draw considerably from the aforementioned exhibition catalogue, The Rudolf L. Baumfeld Collection of Landscape Drawings and Prints, published by the Grunwald Center, University of California, Los Angeles, in 1989.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

For publication information, please contact Susan Shin, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, schin@hammer.ucla.edu

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA. [Item credit line, if given]

Location of this collection:
University of California, Los Angeles, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201, US
Contact:
(310) 443-7000
Website
American
Contents
Nocturne, 1878
Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American
Scope and content:

Beginning in the early 1870s, Whistler produced a series of Nocturnes depicting the Thames River, which signaled the artist's transition from more realistic modes of representation to a poetic interpretation of nature influenced by orientalists and aesthetic sentiments. In Nocturne, one of a group of lithotints of river subjects, the artist used veils of lithographic ink to create the moody, atmospheric effects achieved in his painted Nocturnes with translucent washes of paint, which he had been unable to produce in etching or drypoint. Drawing inspiration from Japanese prints, Whistler divided the composition of Nocturne into two separate zones, separated by a high horizon line. This emphasizes a two-dimensional abstract pattern and evokes the sensation of atmosphere far more than it describes the subject. The print's composition, tonal variations, and mood anticipate Whistler's views of Venice, in which the artist would return to the more portable medium of etching, using tonal printing to produce effects of mood and atmosphere. Nocturne was one of a group of lithographs intended to be issued in a limited number of proofs. Due to lack of interest, perhaps an indication of the low status of artistic lithography, only a few impressions of Nocturne, including the present print, were published in this manner. In 1887 a later impression of Nocturne was included in the set known as Art Notes, published by Boussod, Valadon, and Company in an edition of one hundred.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithotint
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Way 5; Levy 10 i/ii; Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi 8 i/ii

Inscription: Recto, printed butterfly at l.r.; pencil annotations at l.l. ("O.S.L./O.O.O./D") and l.r. ("x Whistler"); Verso, stamp "From C.W. Dowdeswell" near c.; collector's stamp of Otto Gerstenberg ("O-G" with victory symbol) and "82 61245" in pencil at l.l.; annotations in pencil ("W I Nocturne") at c. of lower edge; and Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.

Provenance: H.S. Theobald (L. I/1376); Otto Gerstenberg (L. I/2785); R.E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
London, England; Thames; evening; boats; skylines

Summary

Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American

Background

Scope and content:

Beginning in the early 1870s, Whistler produced a series of Nocturnes depicting the Thames River, which signaled the artist's transition from more realistic modes of representation to a poetic interpretation of nature influenced by orientalists and aesthetic sentiments. In Nocturne, one of a group of lithotints of river subjects, the artist used veils of lithographic ink to create the moody, atmospheric effects achieved in his painted Nocturnes with translucent washes of paint, which he had been unable to produce in etching or drypoint. Drawing inspiration from Japanese prints, Whistler divided the composition of Nocturne into two separate zones, separated by a high horizon line. This emphasizes a two-dimensional abstract pattern and evokes the sensation of atmosphere far more than it describes the subject. The print's composition, tonal variations, and mood anticipate Whistler's views of Venice, in which the artist would return to the more portable medium of etching, using tonal printing to produce effects of mood and atmosphere. Nocturne was one of a group of lithographs intended to be issued in a limited number of proofs. Due to lack of interest, perhaps an indication of the low status of artistic lithography, only a few impressions of Nocturne, including the present print, were published in this manner. In 1887 a later impression of Nocturne was included in the set known as Art Notes, published by Boussod, Valadon, and Company in an edition of one hundred.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithotint

Indexed terms

Subjects:
London, England; Thames; evening; boats; skylines
Little Venice, from the First Venice Set, 1880
Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American
Scope and content:

In 1879, sponsored by the Fine Art Society, London, Whistler traveled to Venice, where he rendered some fifty plates of this city during the following fourteen months. Setting out each day in his gondola, the artist worked from nature, drawing directly on the etching plate.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint printed in brown ink
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Kennedy 183 (only state)

Inscription: Recto, printed butterfly at l.l.; signed in pencil on tab with butterfly and "imp" at l.l.; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Provenance: Sabersky, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Venice, Italy; cityscapes; lagoons; gondolas

Summary

Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American

Background

Scope and content:

In 1879, sponsored by the Fine Art Society, London, Whistler traveled to Venice, where he rendered some fifty plates of this city during the following fourteen months. Setting out each day in his gondola, the artist worked from nature, drawing directly on the etching plate.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint printed in brown ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Venice, Italy; cityscapes; lagoons; gondolas
The Riva, No. 2, from the Second Venice Set, 1880
Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American
Scope and content:

The Riva, No. 2 is one of approximately fifty plates rendered by Whistler during his 1879-80 stay in Venice. In 1886 the London dealer, Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, published The Riva, No. 2 with other etchings by Whistler in A Set of Twenty-six Etchings, or the Second Venice Set.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint printed in brown ink
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Kennedy 206 I/II

Inscription: Recto, printed butterfly at u.l., signed on tab in pencil with butterfly and "imp" at l.l.; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Provenance: R.G. Michel, France; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Venice, Italy; waterways; moorings; walkways; public spaces

Summary

Creators:
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American

Background

Scope and content:

The Riva, No. 2 is one of approximately fifty plates rendered by Whistler during his 1879-80 stay in Venice. In 1886 the London dealer, Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, published The Riva, No. 2 with other etchings by Whistler in A Set of Twenty-six Etchings, or the Second Venice Set.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint printed in brown ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Venice, Italy; waterways; moorings; walkways; public spaces
From R.L. Stevenson's House, San Francisco, 1912, Hyde Street with Cable Car Tracks, 1912
Creators:
Joseph Pennell, 1860-1926, American
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Wuerth 643

Inscription: Recto, signed and dated within plate near center of l.e.; signed in pencil below plate near l.r.

Edition: Trial proof; Edition 40

Provenance: R.E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
San Francisco, California; streets; power lines

Summary

Creators:
Joseph Pennell, 1860-1926, American

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
San Francisco, California; streets; power lines
Austrian
Contents
Ansicht des Dorfes St. Christophen (View of the Village of St. Christopher), after 1796
Creators:
Laurenz Janscha, 1749-1812, Austrian, and Johann Ziegler, ca. 1750-ca. 1812, Austrian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Hand-colored etching
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, in plate below image, "L. Janscha del." at l.l.; "J. Ziegler sc." at l.r.; "Ansicht des Dorfes St. Christophen" and "Vue du village de St. Christophen." across c.; "Cum Priv. S.C.M." at l.l.c.; and "Wien bey F.X. Stoeckl." at c. along bottom edge; Verso: Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.l.; stamp in blue ink ("RE" within stylized W) at l.r.

Subjects:
Austria; landscapes (representations); bird's-eye views; villages; valleys; families

Summary

Creators:
Laurenz Janscha, 1749-1812, Austrian, and Johann Ziegler, ca. 1750-ca. 1812, Austrian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Hand-colored etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Austria; landscapes (representations); bird's-eye views; villages; valleys; families
View of Siena, 1871
Creators:
Rudolf von Alt, 1812-1905, Austrian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, signed in brown ink at l.r. ("R Alt"); stamp of L. Lobmeyer (Lugt I, 327), in black ink at l.r.; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.l.

Provenance: L'Art Ancien, Zurich; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Siena, Italy; landscapes (representations); squares (open spaces); laundresses

Summary

Creators:
Rudolf von Alt, 1812-1905, Austrian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Siena, Italy; landscapes (representations); squares (open spaces); laundresses
Winter (Hohe Warte in Vienna), 1903
Creators:
Carl Moll, 1861-1945, Austrian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Color woodcut (trial proof)
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Verso, collector's stamp in red ink ("PT") at l.r.

Provenance: Galerie Pabst, Vienna; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Vienna, Austria; winter; snow; walkways; urban parks; trees

Summary

Creators:
Carl Moll, 1861-1945, Austrian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Color woodcut (trial proof)

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Vienna, Austria; winter; snow; walkways; urban parks; trees
Oberoesterreichische Landschaft (Upper Austrian Landscape), ca. 1902-1903
Creators:
Leopold Forstner, 1878-1936, Austrian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and India ink
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, signed at l.r. ("L. Forstner") and initialed at u.l. ("F")

Provenance: Galerie Pabst, Vienna; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Austria; landscapes (representations); houses

Summary

Creators:
Leopold Forstner, 1878-1936, Austrian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and India ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Austria; landscapes (representations); houses
Ziegelhaus (Brick House), 1912
Creators:
Franz von Zulow, 1883-1963, Austrian
Scope and content:

In 1909 von Zulow began producing his Monatshefte, a book of months that appeared continuously until 1915, with each month comprising seven images plus a cover. Von Zulow initially produced the images as drawings, but in 1912 he began to print them in linocut, sometimes reproducing earlier designs. These later prints, such as Ziegelhaus (an image from the month of November), were produced as individual sheets bound in a wrapper. Typical of Von Zulow's decorative style, the Monatshefte were executed with heavy black lines reminiscent of stained-glass windows.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Linocut with hand coloring
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Koreny 373

Inscription: Recto, in pencil below image, signed at l.l. ("F Zulow"); dated at l.r. ("1912"); Verso, in pencil in unknown hand, "November 1912" at l.r.

Provenance: Galerie Pabst, Vienna; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
houses; gardens

Summary

Creators:
Franz von Zulow, 1883-1963, Austrian

Background

Scope and content:

In 1909 von Zulow began producing his Monatshefte, a book of months that appeared continuously until 1915, with each month comprising seven images plus a cover. Von Zulow initially produced the images as drawings, but in 1912 he began to print them in linocut, sometimes reproducing earlier designs. These later prints, such as Ziegelhaus (an image from the month of November), were produced as individual sheets bound in a wrapper. Typical of Von Zulow's decorative style, the Monatshefte were executed with heavy black lines reminiscent of stained-glass windows.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Linocut with hand coloring

Indexed terms

Subjects:
houses; gardens
British
Contents
Hilly Landscape, 18th c.
Creators:
Paul Sandby, 1730/31-1809, British
Scope and content:

Executed primarily for aristocratic patrons, Paul Sandby's landscapes, both imaginary and topographical, present an almost nostalgic, idealized view of man's relationship to nature. Typical of Sandby's capriccios, this drawing depicts an untamed yet gentle landscape that provides sustenance and pleasure for animals and human beings alike, as suggested by the combination of the rural (sheep and shepherd) with the peaceful urban presences (the buildings of a small town across the lake in the distant middle ground) in this watercolor. As such, Hilly Landscape and drawings like it contributed to the development of the rustic and picturesque traditions of English landscape painting.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and graphite, laid down on mount
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, mount, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink and penciled annotation ("A23778RL.") below stamp at l.r.

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); pastoral; shepherds; sheep

Summary

Creators:
Paul Sandby, 1730/31-1809, British

Background

Scope and content:

Executed primarily for aristocratic patrons, Paul Sandby's landscapes, both imaginary and topographical, present an almost nostalgic, idealized view of man's relationship to nature. Typical of Sandby's capriccios, this drawing depicts an untamed yet gentle landscape that provides sustenance and pleasure for animals and human beings alike, as suggested by the combination of the rural (sheep and shepherd) with the peaceful urban presences (the buildings of a small town across the lake in the distant middle ground) in this watercolor. As such, Hilly Landscape and drawings like it contributed to the development of the rustic and picturesque traditions of English landscape painting.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and graphite, laid down on mount

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); pastoral; shepherds; sheep
Wooded Landscape with Cattle and Herdsman, n.d.
Creators:
Thomas Barker, 1769-1847, British
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Brown ink and wash, inlaid onto secondary support
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Verso, secondary support, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Provenance: Colnaghi, London; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); pastoral; herdsmen; cattle

Summary

Creators:
Thomas Barker, 1769-1847, British

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Brown ink and wash, inlaid onto secondary support

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); pastoral; herdsmen; cattle
Landscape with a Town at Sunset, ca. 1800-1820
Creators:
John Varley, 1778-1842, British
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Wales; landscapes (representations); sunset; rivers; mountains; towns; bridges (built works)

Summary

Creators:
John Varley, 1778-1842, British

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Wales; landscapes (representations); sunset; rivers; mountains; towns; bridges (built works)
Landscape with a House by a Stream, ca. 1804-1807
Creators:
David Cox, 1783-1859, British
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Sepia ink and washes over graphite
Other descriptive data:

Provenance: Lucien Goldschmidt, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); houses; streams; people; fishing

Summary

Creators:
David Cox, 1783-1859, British

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Sepia ink and washes over graphite

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); houses; streams; people; fishing
L'Hotel de Ville, Arras, from Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, etc., printed by Charles Hullmandel and published by Thomas Boys, 1839
Creators:
Thomas Shotter Boys, 1803-1874, British
Scope and content:

Comprising twenty-nine lithographs, Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, etc. is not only one of the finest topographical albums ever produced but is also a landmark in the development of color printmaking (Michael Twyman, 1970, p. 211). Its delicate printing and subtle use of chromolithography testify to the artist's close collaboration with the album's printer, Charles Hullmandel, to whom the album is dedicated in acknowledgment of the printer's many innovations in the technique of lithographic printing.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithograph printed in colors
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Groschwitz 24L

Inscription: Recto, in plate, signed at l.l. ("T Boys") and titled at l.r.; Verso: Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Provenance: R. E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
France; topographical views; architecture; town halls; clock towers; public spaces

Summary

Creators:
Thomas Shotter Boys, 1803-1874, British

Background

Scope and content:

Comprising twenty-nine lithographs, Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, etc. is not only one of the finest topographical albums ever produced but is also a landmark in the development of color printmaking (Michael Twyman, 1970, p. 211). Its delicate printing and subtle use of chromolithography testify to the artist's close collaboration with the album's printer, Charles Hullmandel, to whom the album is dedicated in acknowledgment of the printer's many innovations in the technique of lithographic printing.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithograph printed in colors

Indexed terms

Subjects:
France; topographical views; architecture; town halls; clock towers; public spaces
The Herdsman's Cottage or Sunset, 1850
Creators:
Samuel Palmer, 1805-1881, British
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Lister 3 ii/ii

Inscription: Verso, collector's stamp (lion in shield with three stars) at l.l. and center

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); herdsmen; cattle

Summary

Creators:
Samuel Palmer, 1805-1881, British

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); herdsmen; cattle
The Early Ploughman or The Morning Spread upon the Mountains, before 1861
Creators:
Samuel Palmer, 1805-1881, British
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Lister 9 v/ix

Inscription: Verso, collector's stamp (lion in shield with three stars) near center r.e. and, faintly, near center l.e.

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
rural areas; allegory; morning; oxen; plows (agricultural equipment); workers

Summary

Creators:
Samuel Palmer, 1805-1881, British

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
rural areas; allegory; morning; oxen; plows (agricultural equipment); workers
View of Bracciano, Plate 2 of Views in Rome and Its Environs, published by T. M'Lean, 1841
Creators:
Edward Lear, 1812-1888, British
Scope and content:

View of Bracciano is the second of twenty-four full-page lithographs by Edward Lear that were published by T. M'Lean as Views in Rome and Its Environs in 1841. The Grunwald Center impression is from one of the few copies of the book to be hand-colored, perhaps by Lear himself. The first of seven travel books produced by Lear during his extensive journeys through Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, Views in Rome and Its Environs includes examples of the kinds of views that attracted the artist throughout his life: long, panoramic vistas encompassing hills, bodies of water, silent ancient cities, overgrown walls, sparse vegetation, warmth, and stillness.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithograph with hand coloring
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, in stone along b.e., title at l.l. ("Bracciano") and "EDWARD LEAR DEL ET LITH" inscribed at l.r.

Provenance: William Weston Gallery, London; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Rome, Italy; landscapes (representations); buildings; water wells

Summary

Creators:
Edward Lear, 1812-1888, British

Background

Scope and content:

View of Bracciano is the second of twenty-four full-page lithographs by Edward Lear that were published by T. M'Lean as Views in Rome and Its Environs in 1841. The Grunwald Center impression is from one of the few copies of the book to be hand-colored, perhaps by Lear himself. The first of seven travel books produced by Lear during his extensive journeys through Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, Views in Rome and Its Environs includes examples of the kinds of views that attracted the artist throughout his life: long, panoramic vistas encompassing hills, bodies of water, silent ancient cities, overgrown walls, sparse vegetation, warmth, and stillness.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Lithograph with hand coloring

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Rome, Italy; landscapes (representations); buildings; water wells
The Seine between Mantes and Vernon, ca. 1877
Creators:
William Ward, 1829-1908, British
Scope and content:

After reading John Ruskin's Seven Lamps of Architecture, William Ward enrolled in his drawing class at the London Working Men's College in 1854. Ruskin's influence over the younger man's career could not have been more complete. He became Ward's mentor, friend, and chief employer, commissioning him in 1858 to copy watercolors by the late J.M.W. Turner. Through his own talent as well as careful attention to materials used and techniques developed by Turner and taught him by Ruskin, Ward became the most accomplished of Turner's many copyists or imitators. Several of the smaller watercolor landscapes attributed to Turner over the years may in fact be by Ward. By 1869 Ruskin, aware of such real and potential difficulties, was signing and annotating Ward's watercolors, not only as a statement of the work's merit but also to ensure proper attribution by dealers and collectors. This drawing is a copy after Turner's view of the Seine between Mantes and Vernon in the Tate Gallery, London (Turner Bequest CCLIX-114), one of the drawings in Turner's French River series of around 1830. The Ward drawing was commissioned by Ruskin and has an inscription indicating his approval of the drawing on July 5, 1877.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and body color
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, in brown ink, "Seen and entirely approved 5th July 77. John Ruskin." at l.r.; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
France; Seine; riverbanks; roadways; townscapes (representations)

Summary

Creators:
William Ward, 1829-1908, British

Background

Scope and content:

After reading John Ruskin's Seven Lamps of Architecture, William Ward enrolled in his drawing class at the London Working Men's College in 1854. Ruskin's influence over the younger man's career could not have been more complete. He became Ward's mentor, friend, and chief employer, commissioning him in 1858 to copy watercolors by the late J.M.W. Turner. Through his own talent as well as careful attention to materials used and techniques developed by Turner and taught him by Ruskin, Ward became the most accomplished of Turner's many copyists or imitators. Several of the smaller watercolor landscapes attributed to Turner over the years may in fact be by Ward. By 1869 Ruskin, aware of such real and potential difficulties, was signing and annotating Ward's watercolors, not only as a statement of the work's merit but also to ensure proper attribution by dealers and collectors. This drawing is a copy after Turner's view of the Seine between Mantes and Vernon in the Tate Gallery, London (Turner Bequest CCLIX-114), one of the drawings in Turner's French River series of around 1830. The Ward drawing was commissioned by Ruskin and has an inscription indicating his approval of the drawing on July 5, 1877.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor and body color

Indexed terms

Subjects:
France; Seine; riverbanks; roadways; townscapes (representations)
Dutch and Flemish
Other descriptive data:

During the first decade of the seventeenth century, print publishing became increasingly dominated by realistic topographical prints. Claes Jansz. Visscher, one of the most important publishers in Amsterdam, published several series of landscape etchings depicting local rural scenes with farmhouses and village streets. He also published prints by proponents of this new style of landscape from Haarlem, such as Esaias van de Velde, his cousin Jan van de Velde II, and Willem Buytewech. These artists produced landscape prints that, though carefully composed, give the impression of topographical accuracy, providing a familiar, if not exact, view of the Dutch countryside. The culmination of this naturalistic tradition came in Amsterdam during the 1640s and 1650s, when Rembrandt van Rijn produced numerous etchings based on his observations of the local countryside, in which he integrated natural phenomenon with ideal, monumental landscape motifs, thus transforming the native Dutch landscape "into art of the highest order" (Freedberg 1980 p. 53).

Contents
Landscape with Farmhouse, ca. 1595-1600
Creators:
Hendrick Goltzius, 1558-1617, Dutch
Scope and content:

Goltzius's primary importance for the history of landscape lies in a small group of drawings dated to the early years of the seventeenth century, which are amongst the earliest depictions of the countryside around Haarlem. While Goltzius's woodcuts were not as influential as his drawings, they are still indicative of the predilection, particularly among Haarlem artists, for more realistic views of contemporary local landscapes rather than the fantastic Flemish vistas that had been in vogue up to this time. Landscape with Farmhouse is part of a series of four chiaroscuro woodcuts depicting various landscapes. While other woodcuts in this series depict Arcadian or Italianate landscapes, this image is the most "Dutch" in composition and anticipates future developments in the genre. Though the fluid, curvilinear strokes are reminiscent of prints and drawings by the sixteenth-century Venetian artist Domenico Campagnola, the rusticity of the scene and the naturalism of individual motifs such as the excreting dog are typically Dutch. The stork, for instance, appears often in Dutch prints and was considered a sign of good luck in seventeenth-century Holland.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Chiaroscuro woodcut from one line block and two tone blocks
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Bartsch 244; Hollstein 380 ii/ii; Strauss 411; Hirschmann 380; Bialler (1993) 51 ii/ii

Inscription: Recto, inscribed "HG" in block near c. of lower edge; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.l.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Dutch; landscapes (representations); farmhouses; water wells; peasants

Summary

Creators:
Hendrick Goltzius, 1558-1617, Dutch

Background

Scope and content:

Goltzius's primary importance for the history of landscape lies in a small group of drawings dated to the early years of the seventeenth century, which are amongst the earliest depictions of the countryside around Haarlem. While Goltzius's woodcuts were not as influential as his drawings, they are still indicative of the predilection, particularly among Haarlem artists, for more realistic views of contemporary local landscapes rather than the fantastic Flemish vistas that had been in vogue up to this time. Landscape with Farmhouse is part of a series of four chiaroscuro woodcuts depicting various landscapes. While other woodcuts in this series depict Arcadian or Italianate landscapes, this image is the most "Dutch" in composition and anticipates future developments in the genre. Though the fluid, curvilinear strokes are reminiscent of prints and drawings by the sixteenth-century Venetian artist Domenico Campagnola, the rusticity of the scene and the naturalism of individual motifs such as the excreting dog are typically Dutch. The stork, for instance, appears often in Dutch prints and was considered a sign of good luck in seventeenth-century Holland.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Chiaroscuro woodcut from one line block and two tone blocks

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Dutch; landscapes (representations); farmhouses; water wells; peasants
Study of an Old Tree with a Shepherd, ca. 1640-1651
Creators:
Abraham Bloemaert, 1564-1651, Dutch
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Black chalk, brown pen and wash
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, stamp at l.r. ("S" combined with "I")

Provenance: Earl of Spencer (L. I/1530); Ernst Jurgen Otto (L. II/1873b); Dr. Kurt Otto (L. II/611c); C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 7 November 1929, lot 16; Dr. A. Welcker, Amsterdam (L. II/2793c); Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
studies (visual works); landscapes (representations); trees; shepherds

Summary

Creators:
Abraham Bloemaert, 1564-1651, Dutch

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Black chalk, brown pen and wash

Indexed terms

Subjects:
studies (visual works); landscapes (representations); trees; shepherds
Cottage and Hay Barn, 1641
Creators:
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1606-1669, Dutch
Scope and content:

Rembrandt's oeuvre includes about three hundred etchings, some twenty-seven of which are landscapes dating from 1640 to 1657, the period in which he painted the majority of his landscape pictures as well. His landscape etchings were inspired by the countryside surrounding Amsterdam but were almost never etched from nature. Rembrandt's work as a printmaker compares with that of no other artist except Hercules Segers in the variety of techniques and papers used, and certainly no other Dutch artist of the period made such a large number of radical revisions to his plates. The house on the right amidst the trees in Cottage and Hay Barn has been identified as Kostverloren, a house along the Amstel that was a readily recognizable landmark for Rembrandt contemporaries and was often depicted in paintings, drawings, and prints by seventeenth-century Dutch artists. Kostverloren, whose name (which means "lost money") was recorded as early as 1563, was built around 1500 on swampy land on the riverbank, which resulted in the expenditure of large sums of money on its preservation by its various owners (Groesbeek 1966, pp. 125-26, pls. 46-48). While Rembrandt depicted an actual site, its placement in relation to the city of Amsterdam, seen at left, is entirely imaginary. Indeed, probably only two of the artist's landscape prints were actually drawn from nature. Rembrandt intentionally juxtaposed the bustling city in the background with the deteriorating house, a symbol of decay. The image could be interpreted moralistically, as illustrating the decay of the farmhouse in the center, whose inhabitants fish rather than tend to their property, as in a drawing of a neglected farmhouse by Jacques de Gheyn (van Regteren Altena 1983, no. 950, pl. 24). In any case, Rembrandt certainly meant the farmhouse in the center to act as a mediating image between the neglected Kostverloren and the busy, crowded city.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Bartsch 225; Hind 177; Muenz 147

Inscription: Verso, four collectors' stamps within r. half of sheet, the Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin ("Kupferstich-Sammlung der Konigl-Museen"), Thiermann ("TH"), "Tilgungs Stempei KHC," and Baumfeld's ("RB"); numerous pencil annotations, e.g., "B. 225"

Provenance: Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin (L. I/1606); Thiermann (L. I/2434); O.P. Reed, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
North Holland; landscapes (representations); houses; people; fishing

Summary

Creators:
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1606-1669, Dutch

Background

Scope and content:

Rembrandt's oeuvre includes about three hundred etchings, some twenty-seven of which are landscapes dating from 1640 to 1657, the period in which he painted the majority of his landscape pictures as well. His landscape etchings were inspired by the countryside surrounding Amsterdam but were almost never etched from nature. Rembrandt's work as a printmaker compares with that of no other artist except Hercules Segers in the variety of techniques and papers used, and certainly no other Dutch artist of the period made such a large number of radical revisions to his plates. The house on the right amidst the trees in Cottage and Hay Barn has been identified as Kostverloren, a house along the Amstel that was a readily recognizable landmark for Rembrandt contemporaries and was often depicted in paintings, drawings, and prints by seventeenth-century Dutch artists. Kostverloren, whose name (which means "lost money") was recorded as early as 1563, was built around 1500 on swampy land on the riverbank, which resulted in the expenditure of large sums of money on its preservation by its various owners (Groesbeek 1966, pp. 125-26, pls. 46-48). While Rembrandt depicted an actual site, its placement in relation to the city of Amsterdam, seen at left, is entirely imaginary. Indeed, probably only two of the artist's landscape prints were actually drawn from nature. Rembrandt intentionally juxtaposed the bustling city in the background with the deteriorating house, a symbol of decay. The image could be interpreted moralistically, as illustrating the decay of the farmhouse in the center, whose inhabitants fish rather than tend to their property, as in a drawing of a neglected farmhouse by Jacques de Gheyn (van Regteren Altena 1983, no. 950, pl. 24). In any case, Rembrandt certainly meant the farmhouse in the center to act as a mediating image between the neglected Kostverloren and the busy, crowded city.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint

Indexed terms

Subjects:
North Holland; landscapes (representations); houses; people; fishing
Landscape with Three Gabled Cottages beside a Road, 1650
Creators:
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1606-1669, Dutch
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Bartsch 217 iii/iii; Hind 246 iii/iii; Muenz 163 iii/iii; Biorklund and Barnard 50-D iii/iii

Inscription: Recto, signed and dated within plate at l.l. ("Rembrandt f 1650"); Verso, two large stamps in black ink near c.; smaller stamp in black and Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.l.; watermark similar to Churchill 344

Provenance: A.J. Hachette; O.P. Reed, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
North Holland; rural areas; landscapes (representations); cottages; gable roofs

Summary

Creators:
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1606-1669, Dutch

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching and drypoint

Indexed terms

Subjects:
North Holland; rural areas; landscapes (representations); cottages; gable roofs
A Farmhouse and a Man by a Fence, ca. 1654-1660
Creators:
Jan Lievens, 1607-1674, Dutch
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Reed pen and brown ink with blue wash
Other descriptive data:

The blue wash may have been added by a later hand.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Bibliography:

Schneider, H. "Jan Lievens: Sein Leben und seine Werke." Supplement by R.E.O. Ekkart. Amsterdam, 1973 (first edition, Haarlem, 1932); no. Z. 390.

Bernt, Walter. "Die niederlaendischen Zeichner des 17. Jahrhunderts." 2 vols. Munich: F. Bruckman, 1958; vol. 2, no. 365 (as in Albertina, Vienna).

Meder, J. "Handzeichnungen alter Meister in der Albertina." Vienna, 1922; vol. I, no. 42, pl. 22.

Nebahay, Vienna, sale catalog, 1928, lot 66 (ill.).

R.W.P. de Vries, Amsterdam, sale catalog, 9 December 1930, lot 283 (size as 195 x 315 mm).

Sotheby's, London, sale catalog, 9 April 1981, lot 35 (ill.).

Subjects:
farmhouses; trees

Summary

Creators:
Jan Lievens, 1607-1674, Dutch

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Reed pen and brown ink with blue wash

Indexed terms

Subjects:
farmhouses; trees
The Town of Grave, 1674
Creators:
Josua de Grave, 1643-1712, Dutch
Scope and content:

While de Grave depicts the town in a traditional cityscape, the presence of the Dutch army is duly indicated by the boat in the center filled with several small figures and two cannons as well as two additional cannons standing on the shore. De Grave worked very closely with two other artists, Valentin Klotz and Barnardus Klotz. The three traveled together throughout the Netherlands, sketching cities and towns and often drawing the same sites and copying one another's drawings. Between 1674 and 1676 they traveled with the Dutch army, sketching the towns they passed through and the activities of the troops at rest.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink with gray wash
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, inscribed "J de Grave fecit" at l.r., dated and titled ("De Stadt Grave") in another hand on mount; Baumfeld's stamp at l.r. of mount; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp near c. of mount

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Bibliography: Van Hasselt, R.J. "Supplement bijgewerkt tot I. September 1967." Typescript supplement B to van Hasselt 1965.

Subjects:
Dutch; cityscapes; military camps; armies; rivers; boats

Summary

Creators:
Josua de Grave, 1643-1712, Dutch

Background

Scope and content:

While de Grave depicts the town in a traditional cityscape, the presence of the Dutch army is duly indicated by the boat in the center filled with several small figures and two cannons as well as two additional cannons standing on the shore. De Grave worked very closely with two other artists, Valentin Klotz and Barnardus Klotz. The three traveled together throughout the Netherlands, sketching cities and towns and often drawing the same sites and copying one another's drawings. Between 1674 and 1676 they traveled with the Dutch army, sketching the towns they passed through and the activities of the troops at rest.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink with gray wash

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Dutch; cityscapes; military camps; armies; rivers; boats
French
Contents
Le bouvier (The Cowherd), 1636
Creators:
Claude Lorrain, 1600-1682, French
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Robert-Dumesnil 8 iii/iv; Russell 27 iii/iv; Mannocci 18 iii(A)/vi

Inscription: Recto, obscured inscription below image at l.r., "Claudius in.et F Rom...;" Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.l.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); cattle; streams; herdsmen

Summary

Creators:
Claude Lorrain, 1600-1682, French

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); cattle; streams; herdsmen
Italian Landscape with a Villa, 1816
Creators:
Florent Fidele Constant Bourgeois, 1767-1841, French
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and ink with sepia wash
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, signed and dated in sepia at l.l. ("C F Bourgeois/1816"); Verso, inscribed in pencil, center, inverted and circled ("B325/2"); Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.r.

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); villas; streams; laundresses

Summary

Creators:
Florent Fidele Constant Bourgeois, 1767-1841, French

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and ink with sepia wash

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); villas; streams; laundresses
Le Petit Cavalier sous bois (Horseman in the Woods, Small Plate), 1854
Creators:
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1796-1875, French
Custodial history:

Purchase with funds provided by the Friends of the Graphic Arts.

Physical facet:
Salt print cliche-verre with tamponnage
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Delteil 42; Melot C42; Detroit (1980) 8

Inscription: Recto, signed within plate at l.r. ("COROT")

Provenance: Carolyn Bullard, Dallas

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); woods; equestrians

Summary

Creators:
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1796-1875, French

Background

Custodial history:

Purchase with funds provided by the Friends of the Graphic Arts.

Physical facet:
Salt print cliche-verre with tamponnage

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); woods; equestrians
River Estuary, 1890
Creators:
Henri-Joseph Harpignies, 1819-1916, French
Scope and content:

Watercolor was a favorite medium of Henri-Joseph Harpignies; with ease and spontaneity he worked directly from nature, recording sites throughout the French countryside. In this river landscape he revealed his interest in the subtle nuances of light and atmosphere as he rendered a specific time of day. Less detailed than his landscapes of the 1870s and 1880s, Harpignies's later watercolors are characterized by broad, summary brushwork and an increased emphasis on patterning. His freshness, immediacy, and delicate, transparent colors made him one of the master watercolorists of his time.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, signed and dated at l.l. ("h. harpignies. 90.")

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
France; landscapes (representations); riverbanks; trees

Summary

Creators:
Henri-Joseph Harpignies, 1819-1916, French

Background

Scope and content:

Watercolor was a favorite medium of Henri-Joseph Harpignies; with ease and spontaneity he worked directly from nature, recording sites throughout the French countryside. In this river landscape he revealed his interest in the subtle nuances of light and atmosphere as he rendered a specific time of day. Less detailed than his landscapes of the 1870s and 1880s, Harpignies's later watercolors are characterized by broad, summary brushwork and an increased emphasis on patterning. His freshness, immediacy, and delicate, transparent colors made him one of the master watercolorists of his time.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor

Indexed terms

Subjects:
France; landscapes (representations); riverbanks; trees
Le Pont-au-Change (The Exchange Bridge, Paris), 1854
Creators:
Charles Meryon, 1821-1868, French
Scope and content:

Charles Meryon's earliest prints were copies after etchings by old masters such as Karel Dujardin, Salvator Rosa, Adriaen van de Velde, and especially Reynier Nooms, called Zeeman, whose clarity and precision of detail greatly impressed Meryon. These were followed by numerous etchings of the city of Paris, the most famous of which were published between 1850 and 1854 as the series Eaux-Fortes sur Paris, among which Le Pont-au-Change is numbered. Meryon received several important commissions during the late 1850s, and his works were exhibited at the Salon, but he was increasingly plagued by financial hardship and mental instability. In 1859 he met Charles Baudelaire, who greatly admired his prints and tried to foster his artistic career by arranging for the reprinting of Eaux-Fortes sur Paris. Meryon's etchings were exhibited at the Salons of 1863 to 1867, and in 1863 a catalogue of his works was published in the prestigious "Gazette des beaux-arts." Meryon's urban views documented a Paris that was rapidly vanishing in the wake of Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann's radical transformations of the city in the 1840s. Rather than engendering a romantic nostalgia for a "lost" France, however, Meryon's views of urban life are ominous reflections of the increasingly depersonalized city. The expansive, panoramic view of Paris in Le Pont-au-Change is somewhat unusual for Meryon, whose cityscapes were generally more limited in scope. Just beyond the Pont-au-Change, one sees the tower of the Pompe Notre-Dame, and to the right, on the Ile de la Cite, are the Palais de Justice and the Tour de l'Horloge. In various states Meryon reworked the fantastic imagery that appears in the sky, each time altering the meaning of the print. The fifth state was the first published edition of the print. The balloon in the sky bears the word SPERANZA (Italian for "hope"), as if to comment on the man floundering in the river near a small boat, ignored by the boaters as they watch the balloon. In the seventh state Meryon penciled reclining females, a snake, and a chariot in the clouds, although these changes were never rendered on the copper plate. The next major revision of the print occurred in the tenth state, when Meryon added a crescent moon and a large flock of birds that circle the city in a predatory manner. It has been suggested that Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven may have inspired this alteration. The eleventh state underwent a dramatic change; the menacing birds were removed, and a series of small balloons were added, endowing the print with a more lighthearted, whimsical character. In 1854 Meryon wrote the poem "L'Esperance" to accompany the print and metaphorically parallel the image.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Delteil 34 v/xii; Burke 56

Inscription: Recto, in pencil at l.r. below plate, "Vue du Palais de Justice. Paris Mars 1854, 2e Etat;" and in pencil at l.l. "LD.W 34v Le Pont au Change Fine proof on old paper;" Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.l.; other pencil annotations at u.r.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Paris, France; Seine; cityscapes; pulling boats; bridges (built works); hot-air balloons

Summary

Creators:
Charles Meryon, 1821-1868, French

Background

Scope and content:

Charles Meryon's earliest prints were copies after etchings by old masters such as Karel Dujardin, Salvator Rosa, Adriaen van de Velde, and especially Reynier Nooms, called Zeeman, whose clarity and precision of detail greatly impressed Meryon. These were followed by numerous etchings of the city of Paris, the most famous of which were published between 1850 and 1854 as the series Eaux-Fortes sur Paris, among which Le Pont-au-Change is numbered. Meryon received several important commissions during the late 1850s, and his works were exhibited at the Salon, but he was increasingly plagued by financial hardship and mental instability. In 1859 he met Charles Baudelaire, who greatly admired his prints and tried to foster his artistic career by arranging for the reprinting of Eaux-Fortes sur Paris. Meryon's etchings were exhibited at the Salons of 1863 to 1867, and in 1863 a catalogue of his works was published in the prestigious "Gazette des beaux-arts." Meryon's urban views documented a Paris that was rapidly vanishing in the wake of Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann's radical transformations of the city in the 1840s. Rather than engendering a romantic nostalgia for a "lost" France, however, Meryon's views of urban life are ominous reflections of the increasingly depersonalized city. The expansive, panoramic view of Paris in Le Pont-au-Change is somewhat unusual for Meryon, whose cityscapes were generally more limited in scope. Just beyond the Pont-au-Change, one sees the tower of the Pompe Notre-Dame, and to the right, on the Ile de la Cite, are the Palais de Justice and the Tour de l'Horloge. In various states Meryon reworked the fantastic imagery that appears in the sky, each time altering the meaning of the print. The fifth state was the first published edition of the print. The balloon in the sky bears the word SPERANZA (Italian for "hope"), as if to comment on the man floundering in the river near a small boat, ignored by the boaters as they watch the balloon. In the seventh state Meryon penciled reclining females, a snake, and a chariot in the clouds, although these changes were never rendered on the copper plate. The next major revision of the print occurred in the tenth state, when Meryon added a crescent moon and a large flock of birds that circle the city in a predatory manner. It has been suggested that Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven may have inspired this alteration. The eleventh state underwent a dramatic change; the menacing birds were removed, and a series of small balloons were added, endowing the print with a more lighthearted, whimsical character. In 1854 Meryon wrote the poem "L'Esperance" to accompany the print and metaphorically parallel the image.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Paris, France; Seine; cityscapes; pulling boats; bridges (built works); hot-air balloons
L'Esperance, 1854
Creators:
Charles Meryon, 1821-1868, French
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Delteil 35 ii/iii; Burke 61

Inscription: Recto, in ink at l.r. below plate, dedication signed by Meryon ("a G. Salicis...") and pencil annotations at lower edge; Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.l.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Summary

Creators:
Charles Meryon, 1821-1868, French

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Crepuscule avec meules (Twilight with Haystacks), 1879
Creators:
Camille Pissarro, 1830-1903, French
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Aquatint and drypoint
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Delteil 23 iii/iii; Melot 22 iii/iii (number 1 of 15 numbered and annotated trial proofs)

Inscription: Recto, annotated at l.l. in pencil, "3e etat," "#1" [faintly] and title ("Crepuscule [illegible]"); Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.

Provenance: R.E. Lewis, San Francisco; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); haystacks; sunset; figures (representations); walking

Summary

Creators:
Camille Pissarro, 1830-1903, French

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Aquatint and drypoint

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); haystacks; sunset; figures (representations); walking
German
Other descriptive data:

A brief overview of the history of landscape art, as represented by the prints and drawings in the Baumfeld collection, begins during the early sixteenth century, when a group of artists in southern Germany became the first to make landscape the primary subject of a work of art. Wolf Huber and Albrecht Altdorfer were the most important artists of the Danube school, whose prints and drawings feature expansive vistas of the region's mountains, rivers, and forests.

During the twentieth century landscape assumed equal importance among other subjects of pictorial representation, becoming less a depiction of objective reality than a reflection of a subjective experience of nature or a medium for formal problem solving. German expressionist artists such as Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Erich Heckel imbued their works with powerful emotion. This emphasis on the personal experience of nature characterizes many twentieth-century representations of landscape and indeed can be seen as one of the major preoccupations of landscape art since the romantic era.

Contents
St. Jerome in the Cave, 1515
Creators:
Albrecht Altdorfer, ca. 1480-1538, German
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Woodcut
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Bartsch 57; Hollstein 60

Inscription: Recto, initialed in block on tablet near c. of lower edge; Verso, pencil annotations along lower edge; stamp in blue ink and Baumfeld's stamp in red ink at l.l.

Subjects:
Christianity; Saint Jerome; caves; lions

Summary

Creators:
Albrecht Altdorfer, ca. 1480-1538, German

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Woodcut

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Christianity; Saint Jerome; caves; lions
The Path to the Church, ca. 1530
Creators:
Circle of Wolfgang Huber, 16th c., German
Scope and content:

A number of Huber's drawings of specific places document trips up the Danube to Germany in 1513-14 and down the Danube to Vienna in 1529-31. Huber and Albrecht Altdorfer are the principal artists of the Danube school, a stylistic trend in German Renaissance art distinguished by its emphasis on landscape and the transcendent dynamism of nature. This rare drawing by an anonymous artist in the circle of Huber uses landscape to represent the presence of God in nature itself, rather than as a setting for a traditional religious narrative. As noted by Peter Halm and subsequent authors, this is one of several versions of a lost drawing by Huber. The spare, linear style of the present drawing, as well as the tendency to focus upon the vertical elements of the landscape, such as the trees and the distant church steeple, become evident when it is compared with the Goettingen version (see Winzinger 1979, vol. 2., pl. 181), which emphasizes the articulation of dense, curling vegetation. Talbot and Shestack propose that these drawings are based on a Huber model of around 1515-25; Winzinger believes this model would have been slightly later, however, adducing comparisons to drawings by Huber of around 1530. Huber's more naturalistic depiction of a road to a church in an earlier drawing in Dresden (Kupferstichkabinett; Winzinger 1979, no. 66, dated ca. 1518-20) here gives way to a visionary approach to the theme, conveyed most explicitly through the presence of the radiant sun (Sonnengestirn), a recurrent motif in the landscape imagery of the Danube school, expressing God's vital presence in nature. Such pantheism is clearly evident in the present drawing, in which the diminutive church appears to serve as an emblem of the divine energy coursing through the trees and furrowed hills that surround it. A similar juxtaposition of the radiant sun and a church steeple occurs in Albrecht Altdorfer's earlier engraving of Saint Christopher of around 1515-20 (Bartsch 19).

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and black ink, framing line in light brown ink
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.

Provenance: Prince Liechtenstein (sold, Klipstein and Kornfeld, Bern, 19 June 1960, lot 115); Lucien Goldschmidt, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); churches; paths

Summary

Creators:
Circle of Wolfgang Huber, 16th c., German

Background

Scope and content:

A number of Huber's drawings of specific places document trips up the Danube to Germany in 1513-14 and down the Danube to Vienna in 1529-31. Huber and Albrecht Altdorfer are the principal artists of the Danube school, a stylistic trend in German Renaissance art distinguished by its emphasis on landscape and the transcendent dynamism of nature. This rare drawing by an anonymous artist in the circle of Huber uses landscape to represent the presence of God in nature itself, rather than as a setting for a traditional religious narrative. As noted by Peter Halm and subsequent authors, this is one of several versions of a lost drawing by Huber. The spare, linear style of the present drawing, as well as the tendency to focus upon the vertical elements of the landscape, such as the trees and the distant church steeple, become evident when it is compared with the Goettingen version (see Winzinger 1979, vol. 2., pl. 181), which emphasizes the articulation of dense, curling vegetation. Talbot and Shestack propose that these drawings are based on a Huber model of around 1515-25; Winzinger believes this model would have been slightly later, however, adducing comparisons to drawings by Huber of around 1530. Huber's more naturalistic depiction of a road to a church in an earlier drawing in Dresden (Kupferstichkabinett; Winzinger 1979, no. 66, dated ca. 1518-20) here gives way to a visionary approach to the theme, conveyed most explicitly through the presence of the radiant sun (Sonnengestirn), a recurrent motif in the landscape imagery of the Danube school, expressing God's vital presence in nature. Such pantheism is clearly evident in the present drawing, in which the diminutive church appears to serve as an emblem of the divine energy coursing through the trees and furrowed hills that surround it. A similar juxtaposition of the radiant sun and a church steeple occurs in Albrecht Altdorfer's earlier engraving of Saint Christopher of around 1515-20 (Bartsch 19).

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and black ink, framing line in light brown ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); churches; paths
Landscape with Two Huntsmen or Eichengruppe in Buschlandschaft (Group of Oak Trees in a Thicket), n.d.
Creators:
Carl Wilhelm Kolbe the elder, 1757-1835, German
Custodial history:

Collection of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Jentsch 84; Martens 201 iii/iii

Inscription: Recto, inscribed "C W. Kolbe f." in plate at l.r.; "84." inscribed in plate at u.r.

Provenance: Christopher Mendez, London

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); trees; hunters

Summary

Creators:
Carl Wilhelm Kolbe the elder, 1757-1835, German

Background

Custodial history:

Collection of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); trees; hunters
Harbor, ca. 1913
Creators:
Emil Nolde, 1867-1956, German
Scope and content:

This watercolor bears a close resemblance to many of Nolde's studies of tug steamers in Hamburg harbor, a subject that preoccupied the artist throughout the year 1910. It is sparser and more summary than many of the Hamburg watercolors, however, and in this respect is closer to Nolde's harbor scenes painted in 1913-14, when he joined a German anthropological expedition whose destination was the Bismarck Archipelago in the South Pacific. During his six-week stay in China and Japan, the artist made numerous drawings of the people and their harbors. His fascination with Chinese junks resulted in several watercolor and charcoal studies of these vessels, with their distinctive sails. The boat on the extreme right in the Grunwald Center watercolor appears closely related to some of these studies, and the composition is typical of the harbor scenes painted during Nolde's yearlong journey. The significant elements of sky and water are indicated by broad washes of unusual colors, the boats are rapidly sketched in black, and much of the paper is left untouched by color. Upon the expedition's hurried return to Germany after the August 1914 declaration of war, Nolde's sketches, along with the rest of the baggage, were confiscated by the British at Suez, to be returned to him in 1921.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, signed in pencil at l.l. ("Nolde")

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
harbors; steamboats

Summary

Creators:
Emil Nolde, 1867-1956, German

Background

Scope and content:

This watercolor bears a close resemblance to many of Nolde's studies of tug steamers in Hamburg harbor, a subject that preoccupied the artist throughout the year 1910. It is sparser and more summary than many of the Hamburg watercolors, however, and in this respect is closer to Nolde's harbor scenes painted in 1913-14, when he joined a German anthropological expedition whose destination was the Bismarck Archipelago in the South Pacific. During his six-week stay in China and Japan, the artist made numerous drawings of the people and their harbors. His fascination with Chinese junks resulted in several watercolor and charcoal studies of these vessels, with their distinctive sails. The boat on the extreme right in the Grunwald Center watercolor appears closely related to some of these studies, and the composition is typical of the harbor scenes painted during Nolde's yearlong journey. The significant elements of sky and water are indicated by broad washes of unusual colors, the boats are rapidly sketched in black, and much of the paper is left untouched by color. Upon the expedition's hurried return to Germany after the August 1914 declaration of war, Nolde's sketches, along with the rest of the baggage, were confiscated by the British at Suez, to be returned to him in 1921.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Watercolor

Indexed terms

Subjects:
harbors; steamboats
Italian
Other descriptive data:

Landscape art did not dominate Italian printmaking until the eighteenth century, when the growth of tourism in Venice and Rome led to increased demand for prints of regional topographical townscapes, or vedute. The best of these, executed by Canaletto and Giovanni Battista Piranesi, introduced into the Italian landscape prints a new technical brilliance and greater originality in concept and execution. Combining the straightforward topographical view with the capriccio, or architectural fantasy, Canaletto's etchings idealized the splendors of Venice, at the same time conveying an appearance of startling reality. Similarly, in Rome Piranesi turned a tradition of documentary ruinscapes, which had been established in the sixteenth century with prints of Cock, into grand evocations of an antique past.

Contents
Rocky Landscape, ca. 1630-1655
Creators:
Remigio Cantagallina, ca. 1582-ca. 1656, Italian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink on tan paper, laid down
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: "RG" at l.l. (The monogram is a conflation of the letters RCG, one of the numerous monograms used by Cantagallina throughout his career.)

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); trees; dwellings; standing men, back views

Summary

Creators:
Remigio Cantagallina, ca. 1582-ca. 1656, Italian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink on tan paper, laid down

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); trees; dwellings; standing men, back views
Landscape with a Large Tree, 1655
Creators:
Attributed to Remigio Cantagallina, ca. 1582-ca. 1656, Italian
Scope and content:

Formerly attributed to Ercole Bazicaluva (b. ca. 1610-active ca. 1661, Italian), this drawing was recently given to Cantagallina, who may have been originally excluded from consideration because the 1655 date on the drawing places it after that traditionally given for Cantagallina's death, 1635. Based on the evidence of two drawings, dated 1654 and 1655, attributed to him in the Uffizi, Cantagallina is now believed to have died in 1656, a date recorded by one of his original biographers.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Recto, dated in brown ink at l.l. and above border line at u.r.

Provenance: William Schab, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); trees; dwellings; figures (representations); walking

Summary

Creators:
Attributed to Remigio Cantagallina, ca. 1582-ca. 1656, Italian

Background

Scope and content:

Formerly attributed to Ercole Bazicaluva (b. ca. 1610-active ca. 1661, Italian), this drawing was recently given to Cantagallina, who may have been originally excluded from consideration because the 1655 date on the drawing places it after that traditionally given for Cantagallina's death, 1635. Based on the evidence of two drawings, dated 1654 and 1655, attributed to him in the Uffizi, Cantagallina is now believed to have died in 1656, a date recorded by one of his original biographers.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Italy; landscapes (representations); trees; dwellings; figures (representations); walking
Mountain Landscape, n.d.
Creators:
Marco Ricci, 1676-1730, Italian
Custodial history:

Gift of the Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg Feitelson Arts Foundation in memory of Lorser Feitelson.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink on cream paper
Other descriptive data:

Provenance: Lorser and Helen Lundeberg Feitelson, Los Angeles

Bibliography: Moir, Alfred. "Old Master Drawings from the Feitelson Collection." Exhibition catalogue. Santa Barbara: University Art Museum, 1983; no. 67.

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); mountains; pine trees

Summary

Creators:
Marco Ricci, 1676-1730, Italian

Background

Custodial history:

Gift of the Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg Feitelson Arts Foundation in memory of Lorser Feitelson.

Physical facet:
Pen and brown ink on cream paper

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); mountains; pine trees
Veduta del Ponte Salario, from Vedute di Roma, 1754-1760
Creators:
Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1778, Italian
Scope and content:

Piranesi published numerous suites of prints, celebrating the grandeur of Rome in archaeologically precise views of existing monuments or in imaginary scenes combining real and invented elements. Among his most renowned publications are the Vedute di Roma (1748-78), the Carceri d'invenzione (first edition, 1749-60), and Le antichita romane (1756). Piranesi had numerous patrons among the papacy, clergy, and aristocrats of Rome and others throughout Europe, especially in England, and sets of his prints were frequently purchased by connoisseurs and collectors who visited Rome. Ponte Salario was part of the Vedute di Roma series, which featured 135 views of the main tourist sights of Rome and a few views outside of the city. The series, begun in 1748, occupied Piranesi until his death in 1778 and in many ways documents the evolution of his artistic career. In the first phase of the project, from 1748 to 1754, Piranesi issued prints exclusively of contemporary Rome and of well-known sights such as the great basilicas and piazzas. In the second phase (1754-60), however, he focused on individual monuments of ancient Rome. Ponte Salario is characteristic of the second phase of the series and takes as its subject the ancient Roman bridge that crossed the Aniene River near its confluence with the Tiber. In contrast to the smaller, more impressionistic portrayals of ancient monuments in Piranesi's Antichita romane de' tempi della repubblica series, the Ponte Salario is rendered on a large scale, with striking contrasts of light and shade that heighten the dramatic impact of the monument. To further enhance its grandeur, Piranesi rendered the bridge from an oblique angle, thereby showing the monument in its entirety.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching
Other descriptive data:

Catalogue Raisonne: Hind 31 ii/v; Focillon 744

Inscription: Recto, pencil annotation at l.l. ("H.31"); Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.l.

Provenance: Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, Los Angeles; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
Rome, Italy; bridges (built works); watchtowers

Summary

Creators:
Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1778, Italian

Background

Scope and content:

Piranesi published numerous suites of prints, celebrating the grandeur of Rome in archaeologically precise views of existing monuments or in imaginary scenes combining real and invented elements. Among his most renowned publications are the Vedute di Roma (1748-78), the Carceri d'invenzione (first edition, 1749-60), and Le antichita romane (1756). Piranesi had numerous patrons among the papacy, clergy, and aristocrats of Rome and others throughout Europe, especially in England, and sets of his prints were frequently purchased by connoisseurs and collectors who visited Rome. Ponte Salario was part of the Vedute di Roma series, which featured 135 views of the main tourist sights of Rome and a few views outside of the city. The series, begun in 1748, occupied Piranesi until his death in 1778 and in many ways documents the evolution of his artistic career. In the first phase of the project, from 1748 to 1754, Piranesi issued prints exclusively of contemporary Rome and of well-known sights such as the great basilicas and piazzas. In the second phase (1754-60), however, he focused on individual monuments of ancient Rome. Ponte Salario is characteristic of the second phase of the series and takes as its subject the ancient Roman bridge that crossed the Aniene River near its confluence with the Tiber. In contrast to the smaller, more impressionistic portrayals of ancient monuments in Piranesi's Antichita romane de' tempi della repubblica series, the Ponte Salario is rendered on a large scale, with striking contrasts of light and shade that heighten the dramatic impact of the monument. To further enhance its grandeur, Piranesi rendered the bridge from an oblique angle, thereby showing the monument in its entirety.

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Etching

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Rome, Italy; bridges (built works); watchtowers
Untitled (Landscape with large trees and pavilion), 18th c.
Creators:
Rodolfo Fantuzzi, 1781-1832, Italian
Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and ink
Other descriptive data:

Inscription: Verso, Baumfeld's stamp at l.r.

Provenance: Lucien Goldschmidt, New York; Rudolf L. Baumfeld, Los Angeles

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); trees; walkways

Summary

Creators:
Rodolfo Fantuzzi, 1781-1832, Italian

Background

Custodial history:

Rudolf L. Baumfeld Bequest.

Physical facet:
Pen and ink

Indexed terms

Subjects:
landscapes (representations); trees; walkways