Heinrich Faust

(Reinsdorf 1843–1891 Kassel)
Titania sleeping, signed H. Faust, oil on canvas, 112 x 178 cm, unframed, some flaking of paint, (Rei)

Provenance:
Sotheby’s, 16 November 1994, lot 192;
Private Collection Germany.

Heinrich Faust was born in Reinsdorf in 1843, and from 1858 studied at the Kassel Academy of Fine Arts. Following this, he undertook a number of research trips between 1864 and 1870, mainly to Italy, but also to Antwerp. He encountered the works of Arnold Böcklin and Hans Makart in Munich, which were to be of lasting influence. Following these years of study and travel, he returned to Kassel to open his own atelier. Alongside portraiture, he focused on historical subject matter, often with a biblical, mythological, or literary theme.