.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Ursula Heiderich will include this painting in her forthcoming Macke catalogue raisonné.
Wilhelm Schmidtbonn, the first owner of the present work, was born Wilhelm Schmidt in Bonn in 1876. A student of philosophy and literature, his first foray into theatre was working as a dramatist at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus from 1906-1908. Schmidtbonn's friendship with August Macke fired the latter's great interest in theatre and, together with the German sculptor Claus Cito, Macke developed designs for stage sets, leading to an offer of employment at the theatre, which Macke turned down. In July 1906 Macke travelled to the Netherlands and Belgium with Schmidtbonn, Cito and Herbert Eulenberg, Schmidtbonn's colleague at the Dusseldorf Theatre, continuing on to London with Schmidtbonn to visit the city's museums. The present work dates from the following summer of 1907, when Macke first encountered the French Impressionists on a trip to Paris and was a gift from the artist to his great friend Schmidtbonn.
Wilhelm Schmidtbonn, the first owner of the present work, was born Wilhelm Schmidt in Bonn in 1876. A student of philosophy and literature, his first foray into theatre was working as a dramatist at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus from 1906-1908. Schmidtbonn's friendship with August Macke fired the latter's great interest in theatre and, together with the German sculptor Claus Cito, Macke developed designs for stage sets, leading to an offer of employment at the theatre, which Macke turned down. In July 1906 Macke travelled to the Netherlands and Belgium with Schmidtbonn, Cito and Herbert Eulenberg, Schmidtbonn's colleague at the Dusseldorf Theatre, continuing on to London with Schmidtbonn to visit the city's museums. The present work dates from the following summer of 1907, when Macke first encountered the French Impressionists on a trip to Paris and was a gift from the artist to his great friend Schmidtbonn.