Lot 1332 | Franz von Stuck | "Bubi"

STUCK, FRANZ VON
1863 Tettenweis - 1928 Tetschen

Title: "Bubi".
Portrait of a boy.
Date: 1907.
Technique: Oil on wood.
Measurement: 31 x 31cm.
Notation: Signed and dated right: "Franz / von / Stuck / 1907".
Frame: Framed.

Titled on the frame.

Literature:
H. Voss: Franz von Stuck. Werkkatalog der Gemälde. Munich 1973, no. 322/393, fig. p. 169.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

With cheeks that beg to be pinched, a boy looks at us with bright eyes. A cheeky lock of hair rebels against the strictly coiffed hair. Franz von Stuck uses fine details to bring the boy to life: the shimmer of light on his lips, hair and eyes, the redness of his ears and the delicate lashes contrast with the coarse frilled collar and cloudy sky. This provides a striking backdrop for a small, neatly dressed boy and gives the portrait an ethereal space. It is not a window through which we look, but a portal through which the boy looks at us. This work shows Franz von Stuck's individual character of portraiture.

The bavarian artist had a penchant for depicting young children: one of his favourite models was his daughter Franziska Anna Marie-Louise, affectionately called "Mary", whom he regularly portrayed. In this work, however, it is not a child we know, so it is highly likely that the painting was a commission. But even without a precise attribution of the "Bubi", von Stuck creates a touching painting that evokes the innocence and naivety of childhood.