(Hamburg 1849–1936)
“Hammonia”, an Allegory of Hamburg, signed Ferd. Brütt, oil on canvas, 57 x 162 cm, framed, (Rei)

Compare:
Museum Giersch, Ferdinand Brütt, Erzählung und Impression, catalogue for the exhibition in the Museum Giersch, Frankfurt am Main, 18 March to 15 July 2007, published by Michael Imhof, p. 243, no.1899.2 and 1899.3

We are grateful to Dr. Andreas Bastek for his assistance in cataloguing this work.

According to the information kindly provided by Dr. Andreas Bastek, compiler of the Ferdinand Brütt catalogue raisonné, the present lot may well be the piece the painter used to demonstrate his skill when, in 1899, he applied for the commission to decorate the ballroom of the city hall in Hamburg. Brütt also painted two smaller studies on the same subject. The relaxed and direct style of painting indicates Brütt’s shift towards the modern. Trained at the Kunstschule in Weimar, the artist joined the Malkasten association of artists in Düsseldorf two years after completing his studies in 1877, and remained a member until 1898. Brütt’s repertoire included portraits, landscapes as well as middle-class genre scenes. His works were presented at many exhibitions and art societies. (Compare: Museum Giersch, Ferdinand Brütt, published by Michael Imhof, Frankfurt am Main, 2007)