(Stribach near Lienz 1868–1926 St. Justina near Bolzano)
“Ruhender Hirte”, c. 1920/23, signed Egger-Lienz, oil on canvas, 50 x 48 cm, framed

Wilfried Kirschl, Albin Egger-Lienz 1868–1926, Das Gesamtwerk, vol. II, Verlag Christian Brandstätter, 1996, p. 560, M 500, p. 559 ill.
CF also Kirschl: M 295/M 497-M501

Provenance:
Private Collection, Bolzano, according to family tradition acquired directly from the artist

See:
Dorotheum, 12 May 2009, lot 15 - “Ruhender Hirte” (partial repetition) Kirschl M499 selling price € 185.550

After months of intense activity under oppressive economic worries, at the end of April 1922 Egger followed his works, which had shipped a few weeks earlier, to Venice, in order to organise the exhibition room there himself. The collection, with 33 pictures, encompassed his entire development history, from the early works Karfreitag, Ave and Kreuz, to Haspinger, Totentanz, Mäher, Mittagessen, Zwei Hirten, Leben and Der Mensch, up to the compositions of the most recent period: Kriegsfrauen, Generationen, Pflüger, Tischgebet, Mahlzeit. In addition, the portraits of his daughters, landscapes and studies of heads.

Emil Duca, who spent time with Egger in Venice to serve as his interpreter, became witness to his unusual success. The press acknowledged the room of the painter as one of the most important of the entire exhibition, and devoted much space to him in interviews. The sale of the first version of the Tischgebet and of five other works relieves him of all financial concerns. The Uffizi in Florence accepted Egger’s self-portrait into its honoured gallery of famous contemporaries. The Galleria Pesaro in Milan invited the artist to a major exhibition in its rooms. Heinrich Hammer informed him that he intended to write a comprehensive monograph about his work. In mid-May, Egger, who meanwhile had returned to Bolzano, travelled to Venice again, to give King Victor Emanuel III a guided tour of his exhibition. As the Gazzetta di Venezia reported on 17 May 1922:
“In Gallery 13 the King is expected by Egger-Lienz, the proficient painter from Alto Adige to whom a separate gallery was granted for his own individual exhibition. For this occasion, Egger-Lienz has set aside the knee socks and mountain shoes which he normally wears, and is attired in a redingote. The King addresses him courteously in German, and the painter also does the honours in this language in his exhibition. The King congratulates him and offers him his hand.”
From: Wilfried Kirschl, Albin Egger-Lienz 1868-1926, Das Gesamtwerk, vol. I, p. 382