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Artist
The painter Carl or Charles Eduard Schuch was born on September 30, 1845 in Vienna and died there on September 13, 1903. Although Schuch derives from the Austrian Empire, he considered himself to be more of a European. He lived and painted in different European cities, such as: Italy, Germany, France and Holland. Since he was the son of wealthy parents, he never had to work to make a living. He did however have to endure several strokes of fate in his life. His parents and sister died when he was 22. These events caused him – fortunately supported by his financial independence - to go on a restless trip across Europe which he ended 10 years later. He was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. His painting of realism borders on the Viennese Modern Age. He was especially influenced by Wilhelm Leibl and Gustave Courbet, but also Rembrandt and the Dutch masters with whom he stayed with in Holland during his studies in 1884. Schuch is especially known for his still life and landscape paintings.
Artwork
Still life with partriges and cheese was painted after 1884. It measures 63 x 76 cm (width x height).
Brief description
A glass cheese cover is standing on a shelf in the corner of the room, covering half a dozen grey-white mouldy cheese. Hanging on a wall behind that are two freshly captured partridges, above that three smaller chickens, perhaps quails. Following the diagonal on the right side of the picture are two filled preserving glasses. One of them has red fruits or vegetables in it – the only touch of colour in the otherwise brown, grey, white and beige dominating picture. His monochrome use of colour and the concept of still life is comparable with that of other Dutch masters. However Schuch breaks that tradition by applying colour. He leaves the trail of a realistic rendition of the character and places colours as surfaces next to each other. From afar, it seems as if the cheese, partridges and preserving glasses were melting into each other, but from close up it disintegrates into several surfaces which detaches itself from the contents. Thus focusing on the appliance of paint and the charisma of colour.
Genre & Material
Realism painting. Painted using oil on a canvas.
Where can I find this masterpiece in Berlin?
In the Alten Nationalgalerie on the Museuminsel, Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin-Mitte. To find out how to get there, please click the link below the description
A glass cheese cover is standing on a shelf in the corner of the room, covering half a dozen grey-white mouldy cheese. Hanging on a wall behind that are two freshly captured partridges, above that three smaller chickens, perhaps quails. Following the diagonal on the right side of the picture are two filled preserving glasses. One of them has red fruits or vegetables in it – the only touch of colour in the otherwise brown, grey, white and beige dominating picture. His monochrome use of colour and the concept of still life is comparable with that of other Dutch masters. However Schuch breaks that tradition by applying colour. He leaves the trail of a realistic rendition of the character and places colours as surfaces next to each other. From afar, it seems as if the cheese, partridges and preserving glasses were melting into each other, but from close up it disintegrates into several surfaces which detaches itself from the contents. Thus focusing on the appliance of paint and the charisma of colour.
Hier geht es zu dem Museum in Berlin, in dem Sie dieses Meisterwerk finden
ART@Berlin: Carl Schuch – Still Life with Partridges and Cheese
