(Burg/Magdeburg 1859–1923 Nuremberg)
Richard Wagner, Götterdämmerung, Act I, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, with Kammersänger Hubert Leuer (Cologne 1880-1969 Vienna) in the role of Siegfried, signed, dated and inscribed Ferd. Leeke München 1908,
oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm, framed, (W)

“Götterdämmerung” is the fourth part of the opera cycle ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’, Richard Wagner’s main work, which was written between 1848 and 1874. Siegfried’s Rhine journey takes place almost at the beginning of Götterdämmerung and follows the first scene, in which the dragon slayer Siegfried and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde could still enjoy their love for each other unadulterated. Brünnhilde receives the Ring of the Nibelung from Siegfried and gives him her faithful steed Grane in return. They bid each other farewell, and Siegfried sets off on new adventures. The serene musical mood of Siegfried’s Rhine journey conveys this promising excitement and anticipation of new adventures. At the same time, it also forms the prelude to subsequent complications. These two aspects – anticipation and the suggestion of further action – can also be found in the present lot. Siegfried, beaming with youth and strength, sets off on a boat across the Rhine with the horse, Grane. The costume and the carving on the boat display Nordic ornaments and refer to the origin of the myth. The horse nuzzles his head faithfully on the hero’s shoulder, but in the worried look that the animal casts at the viewer, there seems to be a bleak premonition.