Lot 1125 | Wilhelm Hahn | The Cossack Raid

HAHN, WILHELM
1829 Ebersbach - 1887 Dresden

Title: The Cossack Raid.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 112 x 160cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower left: Wilh. Hahn / Düsseldorf 1865.
Frame: Framed.
Verso:
An old exhibition label on the stretcher.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

Carl Wilhelm Hahn began his training as a 15-year-old at the Dresden Art Academy and was soon accepted into the master class of the well-known painter Julius Hübner. After moving to Düsseldorf and studying at the art academy, he particularly deepened his painting of animals and figures. His painterly depictions of American folk life and his renderings of rural scenes or motifs from poetry are particularly significant.
The present painting also tells a story. In a snowy landscape, a young peasant family is attacked and plundered by two Cossack horsemen. The father lies prostrate on the ground, while one of the riders has dismounted from his horse and stands menacingly over him to pull off his victim's boots. A small dog tries in vain to tear the attacker away from his master. The other rider sitting in the saddle has already snatched a little goat, which the young woman is desperately trying to hold back. The fear is clearly visible in the faces of the two small children and the mother, and the viewer can literally feel it. The cart lying on the ground on the right, with the belongings of the robbed, underlines the violence and drama of the scene depicted. In contrast, the beautiful Russian winter landscape, framed by young oak trees, presents an idyllic picture. Nevertheless, Hahn creates a chilly atmosphere through the light.
Hahn's paintings have been shown in numerous exhibitions and have won awards.