Before turning to a painting style characterized by mythological figures in the 1880s, Hans Thoma created a large number of landscapes, most of them on stays in the Black Forest, where he was born. For Thoma, landscape and nature are an "earthly paradise", a place of familiar comfort in which an idyllic life is integrated into the cycle of the seasons and the times of the day. The gentle, hilly landscape of the valley near Bernau is a recurring motif that he brought to life by adding horsemen or shepherds with their animals. The curved lines that the painting is based on, visible under the glazed paint, are intensified in the gentle hill and the sculpturally towering clouds. Against the vastness of the sky, the shepherds warm themselves at the fire. In a muted, dark green, an earthy palette, trees and goats that are almost indistinguishable in color, are embedded in the harmonious landscape.
"Herbstfeuer" is also a rediscovery. The painting was unknown to the literature on Hans Thoma. After it was exhibited at the Frankfurter Kunstverein in 1906, traces were lost. A handwritten note from "Frau Kommerzienrat Dr. Oetker" dated June 13, 1938 attests to the fact that the widow of the famous August Oetker (1862-1918) had given the painting to Hermann Kandler, a member of the executive board of the company "Dr. Oetker". And a little more of story behind it was found: Just three days before the donation, the work had been sold by Galerie Heinemann in Munich to the Bielefeld art salon Otto Fischer. Galerie Heinemann, for its part, had acquired the work from Philipp Rühmer in 1937. The path cannot be traced back any further - and yet far enough, as 1938 was a fateful year for Franziska Heinemann and her family. The Jewish gallery, which was only allowed to operate with a special permit as of 1935, was completely "Aryanized" in the course of that year. Friedrich Zinckgraf had already taken over the company shares of his son Fritz, who had fled in May 1938. In January 1938, the November pogroms marked the end of the once flourishing art business. In the midst of these dramatic events, "Herbstfeuer" changed hands. Today, the work can be offered subject to an amicable agreement with the heirs of Galerie Heinemann. [KT/AT]