Adolph von Menzel

Private collection, Germany;

Unidentified collector’s mark, (WM within a circle, not in Lugt);

with W.M. Brady & Co., Inc., New York, Drawings & Pictures 1790-1890: Recent Acquisitions, 1996, no. 37,

where acquired by Diane A. Nixon

New York, The Morgan Library & Museum; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Private Treasures: Four Centuries of European Master Drawings, 2007, no. 86 (entry by Christopher With)

Menzel was an inveterate draftsman and documenter of contemporary life through his drawings. Having lived through the majority of the 19^th century and the first five years of the 20^th century it is perhaps little wonder that he, of all the talented draftsman of this era, should be the one who so successfully captures a modern sensibility through the immediacy of his drawings. Part of this is surely attributable to the almost voyeuristic viewpoint from which he portrays his subjects, the present work being a fine example of this. Much of the formality of pose that can so often result in a rather banal artistic outcome is abandoned by Menzel, who we know lived by the artistic credo “Nulla dies sine linea” (No day without a line),¹ and was well known for never being without a sketchbook, so that he could document anything or anyone that he saw.

The present work, portraying the head of a bearded old man leaning forward, is a particularly characteristic and emotive example of Menzel's virtuosity as a draftsman. In articulating the subject’s unruly hair, full beard and mustache, and bushy eyebrows alongside the softer details of his face, Menzel demonstrates his ability to couple crisp, bold lines with the delicate, almost sfumato effects created through the technique of stumping. These contrasting styles of handling allowed the artist, when necessary, to combine high levels of detail alongside the softer, more delicate textures required for the modelling of facial features, items of clothing or even the different elements found within a landscape (see lot 123).

The Nixon collection contains four fine examples of Menzel as a draftsman, the present work being the earliest, dating to 1887: the others are the Pathway to a House, alongside a stream, from 1889 (lot 123), the Couple Looking at a Painting, from 1893 (lot 126), and the small Study of a bearded man wearing a hat, dating to 1899 (lot 105). Each drawing aptly demonstrates Menzel’s singular vision. Whether in his ability to capture a fleeting moment from life with skill and spontaneity, as seen in lot 126 or simply convey the serenity of our surroundings, it is little wonder that his drawn oeuvre continues to inspire and delight viewers with its timeless quality.

^1.G. Busch, 'Menzel der Zeichner', in Adolph Menzel, Realist, Historist, Maler des Hofes, Schweinfurt 1981, p. 23