Franz Graf von Pocci "Apollon Musagetes. Einzugsfeier mit den Kellnerinnen. 1. Oct. 1875"

Lot description

Franz Graf von Pocci 1807 München - 1876 ebenda "Apollon Musagetes. Einzugsfeier mit den Kellnerinnen. 1. Oct. 1875" Numbered "1468" upper left, inscribed "I Blatt" and dated "19/12 [18]75" upper right, inscribed "Hans Mackart Vert" lower right. Pencil, pen and brown ink and watercolour, partially heightened with white, on grey paper. Adhesive correction with a depiction of a female semi-nude lower right (approx. 9.4 x 8 cm, irregularly silhouetted). Loss of paper in the lower left corner. Creases. Framed (47.5 x 53.5 cm). Franz Graf von Pocci, like Duke Max in Bavaria, was a member of the gentlemen's club ‘Alt-England’ in Munich. Founded in 1819, this was a social association that brought together prominent representatives from government, ministerial bureaucracy, science, culture and industry. The ‘Kasperlgraf’ Franz von Pocci documented the events in ‘Alt-England’ in numerous caricatures and picture stories. This watercolour also bears a number in the upper left corner, suggesting that the sheet comes from one of the albums of the gentlemen's society. It depicts the popular Duke Max in Bavaria (1808 Bamberg - 1888 Munich). Duke Max, affectionately known as ‘Zither-Max’ by the people, was one of the most important promoters of Bavarian folk music in the 19th century. And so, on this sheet, he is not only depicted as a musician in traditional costume with his zither, but also surrounded by his own nine muses, the waitresses. The name ‘Hans Mackart’ is a mocking reference to the famous Viennese historical painter Hans Makart (1840 Salzburg - 1884 Vienna). Makart created historical paintings, some of which were oversized. He did not shy away from depicting female nudity (‘Triumph of Ariadne’, 1873/74, dimensions 476 x 784 cm, Belvedere Gallery, Vienna), but also created historical depictions such as ‘The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp’ (completed in 1878, 520 x 952 cm, Kunsthalle Hamburg). The accompanying sketch from 1875 was discussed in the Kunstchronik in the summer of the same year and thus became the subject of scholarly debate. In the watercolour on offer, Franz von Pocci combines the mythological theme of Apollo Musagetes (Apollo as leader of the Muses), traditionally depicted playing the lyre on Mount Helicon, with the theme of a ‘procession’ or ‘procession celebration’ in the style of Makart. The Bavarian duke, as leader of the Muses, does not play the lyre but his favourite instrument, the zither, and rejoices in the affection of his Muses, who serve him as waitresses ... After our magazine went to press, we were informed that the person depicted is the mineralogist and writer Franz von Kobell (1803 Munich – 1882 ibid.). During his lifetime, he became known as a dialect poet. His best-known work is ‘Gschicht vom Brandner Kaspar’ (The Story of Brandner Kaspar), which appeared in ‘Fliegende Blätter’ in 1871. Like Franz Graf von Pocci, Franz von Kobell was a member of the gentlemen's club ‘Alt-England’ in Munich. In 1872, the gentlemen's club ‘Alt-England’ moved from its regular haunt, the Englisches Café at Maximiliansplatz 1, to the Café National at Ottostraße 7. On 1 October 1875, it returned to its old haunt, which Franz von Pocci documented in two sheets. Literature: Literature: Stephan, Michael, Franz von Pocci. Unpublished caricatures for the ‘Altengland’ society from 1840 to 1876. Starnberg 2021, No. 1468.