(Haarbach 1812–1874 Munich) and Friedrich Voltz (Nördlingen 1817–1886 Munich) Woodland Landscape with Herd of Cattle, signed F. Voltz, signature remains Ed. Schleich (signature partially removed), oil on canvas, 125 x 177 cm, framed, (Rei)

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Siegfried Wichmann, Meister, Schüler, Themen, Münchner Landschaftsmaler im 19. Jahrhundert, p. 150, ill. 342

Compare:
Siegfried Wichmann, Meister, Schüler, Themen, Münchner Landschaftmaler im 19. Jahrhundert, p. 153, ill. 345 and 346.

Provenance:
Collection Dr. Köhler, Frankfurt.

Eduard Schleich the Elder is regarded as a pioneer of en plein air painting. Although his works were not executed en plein air, rather painted from memory in his studio, the precision of detail in his works reflect his precise observation of nature with its atmospheric effects. After a short period at the Munich Academy which was unable to offer him any stimulus for his landscape painting, and his being described by his teachers as inactive, he dedicated himself to studying landscape painting on his own. The works of Christian Morgenstern and Carl Rottmann served as a source of inspiration. The study of 17th century Dutch painting, as well as a journey to Paris and Upper Italy, expanded Eduard Schleich the Elder’s artistic horizons.
Friedrich Voltz, already encouraged in his artistic endeavours by his father at a young age, attended the Munich Academy from 1834. He focused chiefly on representations of horses and grazing cattle. His depictions of animals were significantly influenced by the horse painter Albrecht Adam and the animal painter Cornelis Koekoek. The cooperation between Eduard Schleich the Elder and Friedrich Voltz was not the exception amongst Munich’s painters. They worked together frequently, each responsible for their particular field of expertise. In the present work the clean lines of the cattle stand out, strongly illuminated against the dark, atmospheric background. Both artists have managed to harmonize their painting styles, successfully creating a unified whole.

In the 1840s Munich’s landscape painters began to increasingly specialise in a particular area. There arose painters specialised in vedute, skies, horses and cattle, or sheep, poultry, dogs or cats. There were also those specialised in figures blending decoratively into the natural background. Therefore it was not uncommon in Munich for painters to finish one another’s works, according to their particular skill. There are many examples of this amongst Spitzweg’s circle of friends; Eduard Schleich often painted the skies in Spitzweg’s works, and in exchange Spitzweg composed the moving figures in Schleich’s atmospheric landscapes. Over the years Alois Bach also supplied many of the figures for Eduard Schleich the Elder’s works. In contrast, Spitzweg requested Friedrich Voltz to paint animals. Schleich repeatedly had Voltz paint large herds of animals in his paintings before himself adding the dramatic skies over Voltz’s herds. There are also larger paintings by Schleich and Voltz which they executed together in the late 1840s. Both undertook strenuous forays through the alpine uplands and into the mountains. Voltz and Schleich needed to harmonise their visions. During this period Friedrich Voltz was a concise draughtsman, using strong graphite prints and sharp outlines to raise the object out from the background. In contrast, during the late 1840s Schleich shifted his focus to capturing the visual phenomena and sensations of light in the landscape. (Cf. Siegfried Wichmann, Meister-Schüler-Themen, Münchner Landschaftsmaler im 19. Jahrhundert, Munich 1981, p. 150-152; Heimatverein Vilsbiburg, …“mich adelt die Kunst“, Leben und Werk des Landschaftsmalers Eduard Schleich d. Ä. (1812-1874), Vilsbiburger Museumsschrift 14, June 2012, p. 48). In the present work the clearly drawn lines of the herd of cattle help them stand out, strongly illuminated, from the dark and atmospheric background.