Lot 1286 | Heinrich Kempf | The Flag Bearer. Portrait of Young Richard Andree with the German Flag

KEMPF, HEINRICH
Mainz 1814 - 1852

Title: The Flag Bearer. Portrait of Young Richard Andree with the German Flag.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 76 x 56,5cm.
Frame: Framed.

Verso:
On the stretcher: "Richard Andree, gemalt 1840 zu Mainz von Kempf".

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The painter Heinrich Kempf, who trained at the Düsseldorf Academy, was probably commissioned to paint this impressive picture around 1840 by the parents of the child depicted. The boy's flag-bearing figure stands out effectively against the grey-blue background landscape with heavy clouds.
Richard Andree (1835-1912), who was about five years old and later became an important geologist and cartographer, is depicted. His work "Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas" became an indispensable standard work, which was published in numerous editions from 1881 onwards.
The boy looks at the viewer with a gaze that is as alert as it is challenging, while his left hand on his hip and holds the waving flag with his right. His black velvet robe is held by a belt decorated with golden oak leaves.
With the early depiction of the German flag, this painting is an important testimony to the the identity-creating symbol of the state, which was not officially introduced until much later.