Wilhelm Gail (1804-1890), From Venice, 19th century, Etching on chine collé

Lot description

Wilhelm Gail (1804 München - 1890 München), From Venice, 19th century, Etching on chine collé Technique: Etching on chine collé Size: 39,1 x 47,4 cm, Platte: 33,1 x 41,2 cm; Depiction: 27,9 x 36,3 cm | 15 1/2 x 18 2/3 in Inscription: lower left inscribed and signed: "Nach the Natur gezeichnet auf Stahl radirt Wilh: Gail.", lower titled: "Aus Venedig." Condition: Very good condition. Minimally stained in the margin, otherwise very good. The corners of the sheet are slightly bumped and creased. Description: Before Wilhelm Gail left for Spain in 1832 to be the first German artist to explore this country artistically and to make it visible to a broad public through numerous watercolors, paintings and graphic works, he stayed in Italy for the second time in 1831. This time to study the local architecture in Venice and Verona. Together with Michael Neher, August von Bayer and other artists, Gail belonged to a young group of artists who devoted themselves mainly to architectural painting. For Gail, however, the individual building with its striking silhouette was not as much in the foreground as it was for his famous predecessor Domenico Quaglio. He was more interested in the architectural detail, the communication of the building with the people who live and use it. Where people degenerate into barely discernible accessories in the monumental photographs of various cathedrals, Gail reverses the relationship and cuts the architecture down to a humane scale. Our Etching, executed with architectural love of detail, illustrates this approach admirably. The significance of architecture is not measured here by its sheer size, but by its proportions and ornamentation. This 'close-up' gives Gail an unusual visual language that distinguishes him from many of his contemporaries and makes him appear refreshingly modern in our eyes. Keywords: Romanticism, Genre, Italy, Venice, Architecture, Canale Grande, Gondolier, Monk, Figures, Gothic, Navy, Naval