Willy Hamacher (german, 1865–1909) The Ligurian Coast Near Zoagli, Genoa (riviera Di Levante)

This large Impressionist coastal landscape (Zoagli on the Riviera di Levante near Genoa) was painted in the late 19th century by the famous painter Willy Hamacher (1865–1909).
Hamacher was the son of painter Theodor Hamacher and the brother of painter Alfred Hamacher. He studied landscape painting at the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts in Breslau under Carl Coven Schirm, a student of Hans Gude. In 1888–89, he continued his studies at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, where Eugen Dücker was his teacher. In 1889, he became a member of the Painting Section of the Düsseldorf Artists’ Association. He ultimately refined his skills from 1890 to 1894 at the Berlin Academy of Arts as a master student under Hans Gude himself. In 1893, he opened his own studio at Queen-Augusta-Straße 51 (now Reichpietschufer) in Berlin-Tiergarten. In 1895, he moved to 13 Tauentzienstraße, where he also ran a “school for men and women.” His final residence was at 7 Spichernstraße in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, where he lived from 1904 onward.

Study trips took him to Rügen, Sweden, Paris, England, and especially Italy. After initially painting northern coastal landscapes, he went on to specialize in Italian coastlines, particularly the French Riviera. His paintings were highly regarded in his day and were also purchased by museums. Beginning in 1888, he exhibited at the Glass Palace in Munich, and from 1889 onward at the Great Art Exhibition in Berlin. In 1896, he received a small gold medal at the International Art Exhibition in Berlin.

Bibliography: Thieme / Becker, “Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künsler …,” Leipzig, 1999; Gresse – Hanselmann. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1922, p. 540; Wikipedia online (with additional images of the painting).

Inscription: signed lower right.

Technique: oil on canvas, original period gilded frame.

Dimensions: unframed 78 x 100.5, framed 96.5 x 119 cm.

Condition: in very good condition, cleaned.