Paul Wilhelm Keller-Reutlingen

1854 Reutlingen – 1920 Munich

 

 

A rural idyll characterises the scenery by Paul Wilhelm Keller-Reutlingen, which stands out through its thorough details. In the middle foreground the attention is drawn to a group of three children peacefully playing in the grass. The red of their clothes is not only reflected in the skirt of a woman standing next to them, but also in the rooftop of a farmhouse depicted in the background. A warm and atmospheric sunlight reveals itself on the building façade which is kept in yellow, brown and green shades. It corresponds with the colours of its surroundings. Whereas a buggy is placed in the left part of the painting, on the right side the group of figures is visually protected by a sunflower garden.

Romantic rural subjects, which Keller-Reutlingen discovered in the area around Dachau or in the Swabian Jura, as well as a dynamic lighting are typical of the painter who, at first, had focused on Italian city views and landscapes.

Keller-Reutlingen studied at the Academies of Fine Art in Stuttgart and Munich. In 1892, he was awarded the Second Gold Medal during the Glass Palace Exhibition in Munich. One year later, he became a member of the Munich Secession. Additionally, he participated several times in the Great Berlin Art Exhibition from 1894 through 1900.

Works by the artist can be found in renowned collections, such as the Neue Pinakothek, Munich.