Rudolf Koller (1828-1905) was a Swiss animal painter. His father was a butcher, brewer, and innkeeper, so he regularly saw wagon drivers and cattle dealers.
He bought a chalet along Lake Zurich and kept a small stock of animals, mainly to use for models.
This painting called "The Artist and his Model" gives a hint about what his working method must have been like. The artist props his paint box in his lap, shielded from the sun by his umbrella. The farmhand who is supposed to be watching the donkey lounges in the foreground.
According to Wikipedia, "To honour the 100th anniversary of his death the Hotel Adler fitted a "stand-up bar for dogs", consisting of cast-iron water troughs, to the outside wall of the hotel. The bar has a mechanism which refreshes the water every 30 minutes."
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Note: I'll be doing a YouTube Premiere called "Gouache: Your Questions Answered" tomorrow, Wednesday August 28 at noon Eastern Time.
Great animal paintings! Rudolf Koller can be admired in the "Zurich Kunsthaus", for instance. He did not only animals: there's a fine portrait by him exhibited there of Gottfried Keller as well, the famous Swiss writer.
ReplyDeleteKoller's most famous work (at least in Switzerland) is the "Gotthard Post", a most lively rendition of a dynamic white steed trampling carriage , running down the Gotthard mountain pass.
It is unsurpassed.
OMG-the light is wonderful, the animals delightful, the touch of simple life heartwarming & the stand-up dog watering bar inspirational.
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