Klein and his friend Erhard on horseback

Details

Literatur:
Vgl. Renate Freitag-Stadler, Johann Adam Klein. 1792-1875. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, Nürnberg 1975, S. 160, Kat.-Nr. 208.

Provenienz:
Conrad Jahn (1815-1870), Gotha, verso mit dem Stempel (Lugt 1397b);
Woldemar Kunis (1872-1928), Dohna (Sachsen), verso mit dem Stempel (Lugt 2635);
Privatbesitz, Süddeutschland.

Description

In February 1815, Johann Adam Klein had returned from Vienna to his hometown of Nuremberg after a stay of almost four years, where he met his childhood friends Johann Christoph Erhard, Georg Christoph Wilder and Conrad Wiesner again. Together they went on hikes in the surroundings of Nuremberg to draw in nature, and it was Klein who often captured these moments of walking together in drawings and watercolours. Sometimes the excursions were also on horseback: this watercolour depicts one such excursion by Erhard and Klein to Erlenstegen, now a suburb in the north-east of Nuremberg, on 3 May 1815. One behind the other on horseback, Klein in front appears distinguished in an upright posture, his right hand concealed in a long frock coat, with top hat and shiny riding boots, while Erhard, who was just 20 years old, sits rather casually on his horse in a peaked cap and brown jacket. At this time Klein was already widely travelled and recognised as an artist, Erhard, on the other hand, was only at the beginning of his short career – Matthias Mende used this sheet as evidence of a not unproblematic friendship, which the self-confident, widely travelled Klein not only dominates, but in his habit also sees himself as a gentleman of standing – in fact, the sheet is already reminiscent of Wilhelm Kobell’s pictures, in which differences in standing appear clearly defined. A second, less completed version of the watercolour exists (Museums of the City of Nuremberg, Graphic Collection, inv. no. 12872), which was probably created in nature, while the present watercolour was painted in the studio on the basis of the Nuremberg version and given the exact date. A dedication on the reverse documents that Klein gave our watercolour as a souvenir to a friend on 1 August 1819 – we do not know who the recipient was, but it is likely to have been Erhard, who was resident in Vienna at the time. Klein, on the other hand, had left Vienna again because of his brother’s illness and was in Nuremberg preparing for a trip to Switzerland, for which he set out on 11 August 1819 and which took him as far as Rome. Erhard also left for Rome in October, where the two friends met again. In the hope of seeing each other again soon, Klein gave him this watercolour before his departure. Dr. Peter Prange – Paper slightly yellowed. With a minor inconspicuous crease in the lower left corner. Minor abrasion from a former mounting along the edges on the reverse. In good condition.