(Munich 1808–1885)
Still Life with Dead Pheasant and Snipe, in the Background a Landscape, c. 1835/1838, rhomb signature right, oil on canvas, 25.9 x 31 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection Germany 1997;
Private Collection Vienna.

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Siegfried Wichmann, Carl Spitzweg. Verzeichnis der Werke. Gemälde und Aquarelle, Stuttgart 2002, p. 176, no. 227.

A certificate issued by Prof. Dr. Siegfried Wichmann, 26 April 1997, is available.

Excerpt from the certificate by Prof. Dr. Siegfried Wichmann:

In the reclining pheasant we recognise Carl Spitzweg’s technical precision in depicting the dead bird. The head with the red plumage around its eyes is very convincing. The plumage of the neck in various shades of brown, black and blue, the short plumage on the lower neck is set off by areas of shadow, the golden-yellow colour together with the umber brown and black forms a varied variation of colour levels, so that the still-life-like feeling is evoked. The bird rises from the background and its volume in the plumage is visible.

The picture belongs to the successful still lifes of the early period, an outstanding picture – Spitzweg’s talent is already evident around 1838. The colours are coordinated, the heightening of the light, also through fine gold leaf overlays, indicates that Spitzweg was already dealing with reflected light. It is the art of drawing that later distinguishes him. [...] The perfectly executed composition and the integration into the surface, shows the strong expressive power that Carl Spitzweg was able to portray in his early works.