Antique Oil on Copper Painting of an Alpine Village Scene

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After the famed German painter, Peter von Hess, this oil on copper painting depicts a charming Alpine village. The original … Read more After the famed German painter, Peter von Hess, this oil on copper painting depicts a charming Alpine village. The original painting, entitled Morning in Partenkirchen, dates to 1819 and is currently on display in The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Our painting is a very accurate depiction of the von Hess original, although the unknown artist painted on copper, while von Hess used canvas. The pastoral scene has several citizens congregating near the village water source. Four women can be seen washing clothes, while a man with a dog takes a quick drink. Nine cows can be seen surrounding the fountains, meandering around the earth-colored buildings in the background. Several verdant treetops can be seen between the houses, a stark contrast to the snow-capped mountains, partially obscured by clouds, in the far background. It has been suggested that von Hess is portraying the Zugspitze, which is the highest mountain in Germany, located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Garmisch and Partenkirchen were separate towns until the early 1930s, indicating that the painting (which depicts only Partenkirchen) predates World War II. The ornate giltwood frame is even older, dating to the 1700s. A professional framing company recently set the painting within the frame, adding rigging to the back.

Peter Heinrich Lambert von Hess was born in 1972 in Düsseldorf, in what would later become Germany. Von Hess was known for his historical paintings, specifically pivotal moments in military campaigns. This is a particularly unique von Hess painting, as it is a peaceful scene, and not one rooted in warfare. See less