Emil Volkers - On the Road, 1871

signed and dated lower right "E. Volkers 1871"

on the reverse, label "Vereins Düsseldorfer Künstler zu gegenseitiger Unterstützung und Hülfe" ("Association of Düsseldorf Artists for Mutual Support and Help")

oil on canvas

36 x 58 cm 

DOCUMENTARY DATA

A variant of the work, dated 1870, is exhibited at the National Museum of Art of Romania and is reproduced in ANGHEL, Costina, VIDA, Mariana, Repertoriul Picturii Românești Moderne, Secolul al XIX-lea, Vol. III, I-Z, National Museum of Art of Romania, Gallery of Modern Romanian Art, Bucharest, 2018.

The work has an ethnographic character, rendered in a naturalistic vision that rivals photography.
In the foreground, the artist describes a true procession on a country road, where, riding horseback or in a buffalo-drawn cart, townspeople and peasants in folk costumes are associated, and a priest is in the carriage. In the background, the peaks of the Carpathians and the image of a monastic enclosure complete this visual compendium. The smooth facture, with a precise and elegant drawing, specific to the artist, highlights the chromatic richness of the types and costumes, which are sharply defined in the strong daylight.

PROVENANCE

• VAN HAM Kunstauktionen, Cologne
• Private collection, Germany