(Würzburg 1814–1873 Bad Soden)
A scene in Andalusia, signed, dated F. Bamberger f. 1851, oil on canvas, 69 x 102 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
Kunsthandel, J. P. Schneider, Frankfurt (according to label and stamp on the reverse);
sale, Van Ham, Cologne, 17 May 2013, lot 682;
Private Collection Germany.

Fritz Bamberger, born in Würzburg in 1814, is primarily known as a landscape painter. Landscapes of Spain were at the heart of his work.
Due to the profession pursued by his parents, who were court and chamber musicians, Bamberger travelled throughout Germany at a young age. His talent for painting was recognised early on and encouraged: he was already a pupil of Primavesi by 17. While Bamberger initially painted the Main and Rhine landscapes or views of France and England, he was soon to find the material for his main work off the beaten tourist track. He travelled to Spain with Mr. Karl du Fay, a wealthy young man, when this country was much less well-known than it would be later. The landscape there would become an obsession for Bamberger, and so two further journeys to Spain followed this one. In the present lot, he masterfully manages to capture the atmosphere of the Spanish landscape in the setting sun. Bamberger was influenced by Carl Rottmann’s Greek cycle, which had been exhibited in the Pinakothek during his lifetime, but he was also affected by the work of Eduard Schleich the Elder.
Bamberger wanted to process the sketches he had collected during his travels back in his studio in Frankfurt. However, since four of his brothers had formed a successful vocal quartet there, he fled to Munich to avoid distractions. This was a stroke of luck for his career, as it turned out later. Bamberger became inundated with commissions from the Bavarian king and was also rewarded with a professorship in 1870. In addition, he undertook several excursions to the Bavarian Alps and Northern Italy from his base in Munich. However, when his health deteriorated, he retired to the Taunus and died there after a short stay in 1873.