Lot 7186
Arthur Illies (1870 - 1952) – The Market Square in Pinsk, circa 1916
Orders and Military Collectibles until 1918 | A108m | Live auction | 1240 Lots
Description
Oil on cardboard, unsigned, a small defect at the bottom left. A vibrant depiction of the market square with German soldiers in field-grey, Pinsk Monastery with its monastery school in the background. Size of the painting circa 42 x 40 cm, size of the frame 51.5 x 50 cm. Catalogue Raisonné, Illies no. 1131. The son of a Hamburg merchant, Arthur Illies began an apprenticeship as a decorator in 1886 and took classes on drawing nudes and animals. From 1889, he studied at the Royal School of Arts and Crafts and, from 1890, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1908, he became a lecturer at the State School of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg, where he was given a studio from 1914 onwards. He was considered one of the outstanding graphic artists of the turn of the century. Although exempt from military service, in 1916 he accompanied Infantry Regiment "Hamburg" (2nd Hanseatic) No. 76 to the front in Jablon and Pinsk. He painted a series of pictures of the regiment that were exhibited in the Great Hall of the Hamburg School of Arts and Crafts in 1918. In 1926, the Hamburg Senate appointed him professor. Although he was bitterly disappointed by his dismissal from his post following the National Socialists' rise to power, he showed six paintings at the Great German Art Exhibition between 1941 and 1944.Condition: II - Questions about the lot?
