Leo Freiherr von König, Brunswick 1871 - 1944 Tutzing, Venice

Leo Freiherr von König
Braunschweig 1871 - 1944 Tutzing
Venice
Oil on canvas
66 x 82.5 cm, with frame 83 x 97 cm
Signed lower right

As a long-standing board member and representative of the Berlin Secession, Leo von König is considered an important artist of his time. He is a "painter with many faces" - his works particularly reflect the political and social changes from the German Empire to the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime. Leo von König was known for his portraits, but landscapes, mythological scenes, and animal paintings also played an important role in his oeuvre.

Two docked gondolas in Venice are depicted here, with the pier of St Mark's Square to the right, the Grand Canal in the centre of the composition, with other small boats and a sailing ship, and the church of Santa Maria della Salute and the Punta della Dogana in the background. The immediacy of the gondolas in the foreground, reflected in the water with their fixed wooden pegs, invites the viewers to immerse themselves in the scene. The greenish colouring and expressionist texture of the water together with the black and purple colouring of the boats in the lower half of the picture contrast with the bright, iridescent surface of the water towards the horizon and the district of Dorsoduro in the background, depicted in pastel shades. The pictorial space is populated by the lively gesturing figures on small boats. Leo von König has created a powerful, seemingly psychological work with an expressive style and an intensely evocative use of colour.

The Buchheim Museum's exhibition "Leo von König. Love, Art & Conventions", a major solo exhibition with previously unknown paintings recently took place at the Buchheim Museum (02.12.2023-07.04.2024).