(Vienna 1885–1954 New York)
Das Schachspiel (The chess game), c. 1935, signed MOPP, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 cm, framed

Provenance:
Arnold Klagsbrunn (1886–1970), dentist in Vienna (directly acquired from the artist)
by descent to his adopted daughter, Vienna
thence by descent


Max Oppenheimer (MOPP) was a passionate chess player and loved the atmosphere in the cafés when the battle of wits took place at the board. The game of chess therefore also accompanied him artistically in the most diverse periods of his work, in ever-changing combinations and image sections. (cf. Marie-Agnes von Puttkamer, Max Oppenheimer. 1885–1954, Vienna 1999, cat. rais. no. 107 (1916), no. 212 (1931), no. 265 (1939), as well as in: Max Oppenheimer. Expressionist pioneer, Leopold Museum, Vienna 2023, ill. p. 272

This painting is a new discovery and according to family tradition a gift in lieu of payment for a Viennese dentist who was also a chess player. Oppenheimer lived in Vienna again from 1932 to 1938, and the present work can also be stylistically dated to these years.

In 1935, Max Oppenheimer was given the opportunity to exhibit at the Vienna Secession. Two chess games are mentioned in the catalog under nos. 16 and 19, but without an illustration or precise picture details (cf. Puttkamer, nos. 212 and 248). It is therefore not possible to identify this painting as one of them, but the exhibition shows Oppenheimer’s enduring interest in chess as a pictorial motif.

The focus of the composition is on the moment of the move, which is of decisive importance given the small number of pieces on the board. The extreme close-up view of the board alone heightens the tension, elevating the hands with their delicate but “speaking” fingers – so characteristic of Oppenheimer – to the status of the actual players. Similar to the first known version from 1916, only the profile of one player can be seen, tensely observing his opponent’s decision, while the match has gone out without lighting the cigarette.