Josef Wenglein (1845-1919), The Way Home, Around 1890

Josef Wenglein (1845 Munich - 1919 Bad Tölz), The Way Home, around 1890. Etching, 11 cm x 15.2 cm (image), 29.5 cm x 33 cm (frame), signed below left of the image. Framed under glass with passe-partout. - Slightly darkened, otherwise in good condition. Attractively framed.  



- Homecoming -


Darkness gradually descends over the landscape. The trees begin to become silhouettes and the shallow water spreading across the ground reflects the setting sun. Only at second glance does the man inserted into the shadowy landscape catch the eye. He is walking toward the sunset and a house, returning home after a day's work. As he does so, he passes the gnarled trees, marked by life. Guided by the figure's back, we also wander into the picture in our minds and become part of the melancholic evening atmosphere.



About the artist


Joseph Wenglein was an important German landscape painter and one of the last great representatives of the Munich School. He began his training at the Munich Art Academy while studying law. He eventually switched entirely to painting and became a student of renowned artists such as Johann Gottfried Steffan and Adolf Heinrich Lier. Lier's focus on color and atmospheric depictions in particular had a decisive influence on Wenglein's style. He found his motifs almost exclusively in the vicinity of Munich, especially in the Isar region. He was known for his virtuoso ability to capture the changing light conditions and the specific gray tone of the air on the Bavarian plateau, especially in spring and fall. Wenglein, who was also a teacher of the later Impressionist Otto Reiniger, was awarded honorary citizenship of Bad Tölz for his work.