Vente: 532 / 19th Century Art 10 décembre 2022 à Munich Lot 318

 

318
Edward Theodore Compton
Am Morteratschgletscher, 1903.
Oil on canvas
Estimation:
€ 4,000 / $ 4,320
Résultat:
€ 12,500 / $ 13,500

( frais d'adjudication compris)
Am Morteratschgletscher. 1903.
Oil on canvas.
Cf. Brandes p. 127. Lower right signed. 51 x 40 cm (20 x 15.7 in).

We are grateful to Ms Sibylle Brandes, Tutzing, for her kind support in cataloging this lot.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Hesse.

Born in England, Compton first climbed the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland, near the home of his grandparents. Fascinated by this impressive natural landscape, he decided to specialize in mountain painting. As a keen mountaineer, he was able to conquer the peaks both physically and artistically. Before attending several art schools in England, Compton began to study nature in 1863 to teach himself the art of painting. For this oil painting, Compton climbed the Morteratsch glacier in Switzerland, which is well over 4,000 meters high. The third longest glacier in the Eastern Alps, it is surrounded by several three-thousand-meter peaks, offering a unique panoramic view. Compton chose a vantage point from a plateau at the tree line where a bare tree and a sparsely-needled tree protrude from the green-yellow meadow at the right edge of the picture, directing the viewer’s gaze to the surrounding scenery. The vast icy glacier plateau extends to the towering steep mountains on the horizon. Both the sky and the snow-covered mountain peaks are tinged with yellow, most likely reflecting the evening sun. While the changeable effects of the light and the fast pace of the weather phenomena evoke a certain subliminal menace in this mountain setting, the painting also communicates a sense of idyllic serenity. [JG]



318
Edward Theodore Compton
Am Morteratschgletscher, 1903.
Oil on canvas
Estimation:
€ 4,000 / $ 4,320
Résultat:
€ 12,500 / $ 13,500

( frais d'adjudication compris)