Georg Wenzel von Knobelsdorff, Two Landscapes on the Oder

Georg Wenzel von Knobelsdorff

Crossen (Oder) 1699 - 1763 Berlin

Two Landscapes on the Oder

Oil on canvas. Each 33.4 x 43.5 cm.

In an antique frame.

One picture monogrammed lower centre: WKv.

** Provenance
From the estate of the art restorer Alfred Sommerfeld, Berlin, - The Giese Family Collection.

This pair of landscapes appears to have been made after a trip to Freienwalde in 1745, as this location is inscribed on the back of one of the works.

Nowadays Knobelsdorff, the famous chief architect of Frederick the Great, is little known for his work as a painter. His oeuvre is rather small and poorly researched. However, we know from the King's eulogy for the artist that he was proficient in every genre of painting, from narrative to flower painting, and worked in all mediums from oil paints to pastels.

Knobelsdorff's portraits primarily display the influence of Antoine Pesne, but his landscapes tend to follow those of the Berlin based artist Carl Dubois.