Hans Thoma, Mermaid, 1890s, Ceramic

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Hans Thoma

Bernau 1839 - 1924 Karlsruhe

Mermaid

Ceramic

Monogrammed lower left
Marked on the reverse: Grand Ducal Majolica Manufactory … Read more Hans Thoma

Bernau 1839 - 1924 Karlsruhe

Mermaid

Ceramic

Monogrammed lower left
Marked on the reverse: Grand Ducal Majolica Manufactory Karlsruhe
Size: 41.8 x 48 cm
Good original condition

Viewing and collection possible by prior appointment
Authenticity will be confirmed in writing.

Hans Thoma spent his childhood in the Black Forest village of Bernau. In 1853, he went to Basel to begin an apprenticeship, first as a lithographer and then as a painter. Thoma received his first artistic and technical training in 1855 from a clock face painter in Furtwangen, with whom he briefly apprenticed. Later that same year, he returned to Bernau and painted small landscapes and portraits, which he was able to sell at low prices. This training enabled him to be admitted to the Karlsruhe Art School in 1859, where he studied under the teachers Descourdes, Schirmer, and Canon. At the end of 1866, Thoma left the academy and moved to Düsseldorf. There he met Otto Scholderer, with whom he traveled to Paris for a few weeks in May 1868. Influenced by Courbet, Thoma painted several figure paintings and landscapes after his return. In the autumn of 1870, the artist moved to Munich. He maintained numerous friendships with artists, including Victor Müller, Wilhelm Leibl, and Arnold Böcklin, and met the Frankfurt physician Dr. Eiser, who became his most important patron and supporter. In 1874, Thoma traveled to Italy for the first time and met Hans von Marées in Rome. Returning to Munich, he married his student Cella Barteneder and moved to Frankfurt. Thoma remained there until 1899. During this time, further travels took him to Italy and to England to visit his patron Charles Minoprio. In 1882, he received his first major commission: five murals depicting scenes from Wagnerian operas for the house of architect Simon Ravenstein in Frankfurt. Thoma met Henry Thode, Richard Wagner's son-in-law, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. In 1890, his first successful solo exhibition took place at the Munich Art Association, and he joined the Munich Secession. In 1899, Thoma was appointed gallery director in Karlsruhe and received a professorship at the art school there. He was subsequently showered with honors, including an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University and the Pour le Mérite in 1917. On his 70th birthday, the Hans Thoma Museum was opened as an extension to the Karlsruhe Art Gallery. Numerous solo exhibitions were also held, including one at Fritz Gurlitt's gallery in Berlin. In 1919, he resigned as director of the Karlsruhe Art Gallery. Hans Thoma died in Karlsruhe on November 7, 1924. This piece has an attribution mark,
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