(Vienna 1804–1871 Munich)
A cartoon for the painting “Der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg” (The Singers Contest at Wartburg Castle), ca. 1844–1846, black chalk on paper, 95 x 61 cm, framed, (Sch)

Provenance:
Private property, Austria.

The present drawing is a cartoon for the painting “Der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg” (The Singers Contest at the Wartburg) which Moritz von Schwind executed between 1844-46 (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Inv.921, oil on canvas, 281,5 x 269,3 cm) shortly after his move to Frankfurt am Main. In 1837 he had already made a first watercolour version of the topic in Karlsruhe (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. Nr. SZ 100) The watercolour resembles the later oil painting in the composition’s layout on two levels but differs from it in its horizontal format. For the painted version Schwind had chosen a square format which not only caused a compression of the architecture but also called for a reduction of the number of figures which gave way for an extension and an additional figure next to Wolfram von Eschenbach at the right: It is Reinmar von Zweter who is also represented in the present carton. The knight-chancellor of the landgrave Heinrich von Rispach is standing behind Reinmar. In contrast to the final version Heinrich von Rispach is not turning his head to the right, but is, like in the watercolour version, directing his look towards the hosting couple, the Thuringian landgrave Hermann and his wife Sophie, who are seated above him. The complete study for the painting in watercolour is kept in the Albertina (Inv. Nr. 23143). Between 1853 and 1855 Schwind took up the topic of the Singers Contest again when he painted the frescoes at the Wartburg. In the Wartburg decoration Schwind unified the scenes of the two-level composition and stretched them panorama-like into the picture plane. For the different version and stages, see Siegmar Holsten, Moritz von Schwind: Meister der Spätromantik, Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig, 1996, Cats. 166–168, Cats. 256–259, Cat. 337.

We are grateful to Dr. Ulrike Olbrich for the scientific support.