Self-portrait of the Artist*
The Friedrich Kaspar Heising (1821-1902) academic male nude painting arrived last Saturday. I did not find the package in the garage until Sunday morning and completely missed the delivery. I found a nice spot for it in the middle of the wall above the flat screen and moved a few of the other frames around to accommodate it. When the seller in Germany and I were trying to get to a price that would get it out of Germany without having to go through the labyrinth of German Customs and into my collection, I mentioned to the seller that I suspected the painting had been cut down based upon the missing feet. No self respecting 19th century painting instructor overseeing the training of a talented student such as Heising would permit the submission of an academic nude study with the feet missing. That was just not going to happen. After closely inspecting the painting I am now positive that the painting was indeed cut down but not for the obvious reasons (stupidity). This painting has in its past been professionally cleaned, relined, and conserved to preserve what I will readily admit is a beautiful work of artistic draftsmanship. I suspect the feet are missing because of unrepairable damage that may have occurred to that portion of the canvas and the preservationist had no other choice but to preserve what he or she could and still maintain the integrity of the painting. I must say that what was preserved is breathtaking. If you look closely, you can even see individual hairs in the models beard. What a beautifully executed 19th century academic work. I managed to dig up some basic biographical information on Heising and a self-portrait (above). He was a well known German figure and landscape painter who studied in Frankfort originally and established a studio in Koblenz Lahnstein later. His paintings hang in some well known European Museums.
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The Friedrich Kaspar Heising (1821-1902) academic male nude painting arrived last Saturday. I did not find the package in the garage until Sunday morning and completely missed the delivery. I found a nice spot for it in the middle of the wall above the flat screen and moved a few of the other frames around to accommodate it. When the seller in Germany and I were trying to get to a price that would get it out of Germany without having to go through the labyrinth of German Customs and into my collection, I mentioned to the seller that I suspected the painting had been cut down based upon the missing feet. No self respecting 19th century painting instructor overseeing the training of a talented student such as Heising would permit the submission of an academic nude study with the feet missing. That was just not going to happen. After closely inspecting the painting I am now positive that the painting was indeed cut down but not for the obvious reasons (stupidity). This painting has in its past been professionally cleaned, relined, and conserved to preserve what I will readily admit is a beautiful work of artistic draftsmanship. I suspect the feet are missing because of unrepairable damage that may have occurred to that portion of the canvas and the preservationist had no other choice but to preserve what he or she could and still maintain the integrity of the painting. I must say that what was preserved is breathtaking. If you look closely, you can even see individual hairs in the models beard. What a beautifully executed 19th century academic work. I managed to dig up some basic biographical information on Heising and a self-portrait (above). He was a well known German figure and landscape painter who studied in Frankfort originally and established a studio in Koblenz Lahnstein later. His paintings hang in some well known European Museums.
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