Lot 700 | Jakob Philipp Hackert | Swedish River Landscape

HACKERT, JAKOB PHILIPP
1737 Prenzlau - 1807 Florence

Title: Swedish River Landscape.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Mounting: Relined.
Measurement: 112 x 151,5cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower left: Ph. Hackert (...).
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.

Literature:
C. Nordhoff / H. Reimer: Jakob Philipp Hackert 1737-1807. Index of his works, Vol. II, no. 408.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

Jacob Philipp Hackert is one of the prominent artists of German Classicism. His name is associated with Angelika Kauffmann and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is representative, as it were associative, of the idyllic landscape painting of this epoch and the longing for Italy. Hackert became groundbreaking above all because of his inter-European activities, which made him travel through France, Italy and also Sweden until he finally became one of the most sought-after artists of his time - a real shooting star.
The present painting "Swedish River Landscape" is a rarity in the artist's oeuvre, as he mainly painted Italian landscapes. It demonstrates with brilliance why Hackert already made a name for himself in his lifetime, a name with which the European nobility in particular wanted to adorn themselves: The picture shows a river landscape that covers almost the entire surface of the painting. Trees at the lower right edge of the painting protect the lovely idyll. Meticulously and with a true love of detail, the artist shows us the numerous boats in the river landscape in an almost realistic, but at the same time nostalgically idealised manner, creating a harmonious image of distant Sweden. The painter immerses himself in the Nordic temperatures of Scandinavia and thus creates a scene clothed in coolness.
Claudia Nordhoff points out that Hackert's river landscape must have been painted during his journey to southern Sweden in 1764. She also mentions in the artist's catalogue raisonné that Hackert made a preliminary drawing on site before completing the impressive painting. The said preparatory drawing is today in the Graphic Collection of the Hamburg Kunsthalle.
The rendering of the mood of the scenery as well as the accurate depiction of the landscape are representative of Hackert's artistic and intellectual aspiration: the rendering of purified truth and tamed nature. This aspect, which speaks from the present painting, reflects an important facet in the artist's work and thinking, who was also concerned with the correct principles of landscape painting on an art-theoretical basis. He unites longing with nature and thereby creates landscapes that become the epitome of idealised perfection and beauty.