Market in Cracow 1895 (copy after F.A. Schönn 1869)

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For image description s. below.


JQAW# G_1895_030
Oil on wood 56 x 43 cm
Signature: J.Q. Лdams. 95.
Unknown collection, likely USA
Image: Online auction catalog Direct Auction Galleries Chicago 2024

Lively market scene in the center of which an orthodox Jew in a black caftan and black cap is selling geese. This man, with a mottled gray beard and holding a ceramic pipe in his left hand, stands leaning against a ladder cart with woven sides, which is being driven by an Orthodox Jew with a fur cap (shtreimel). The seller is surrounded by a flock of geese resting on the ground. A buyer in a black caftan and fur cap bends down in front of him and picks up a goose, grasping it under its wings. Numerous people surround the central figures. A busy street and a medieval-looking building complex with wooden shingles and wooden board extensions can be seen in the background. A pale blue sky with gray clouds stretches above.

This early work from 1895, when Adams was still studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, is a copy of a painting by Friedrich Alois Schönn (1826-1897) from 1869, which was owned by the Academy and is now on permanent loan to the Belvedere museum in Vienna (LG122). It shows the young artist as a masterful copyist who skillfully copied the original painting in terms of material (oil on wood), dimensions (56 x 43 cm compared to 56 x 44 in the original) and richness of detail. Adams only deviates slightly from the original in terms of the color scheme; the copy has significantly brighter, warmer colors than the original (see image comparison). Copies and studies made in the course of his training were a welcome source of additional income for the young artist and are documented several times (copies after Lupicini and also after Angeli). After completing his studies, Adams also worked as a copyist (e.g. Portrait Metternich Winneburg), including of his own works (Portrait Helene Odilon), both from 1903, as well as the portrait of Prince Alfred Montenuovo from 1917, which Adams produced in two identical versions: one for the imperial collections and one for the sitter's family.

The painting is not mentioned in any of Adams' sources, so it was probably purchased directly by the artist and came to the USA in the course of the emigration of the presumably Jewish owners. It was sold at auction in 2024 to an unknown collection.

Cross-references

Image comparison: Schönn original 1869 (left) vs Adams copy 1895 (right)

The Schönn original in the Belvedere Museum Vienna collection LG122

Exhibited

Literature

Provenance

Unknown.
2024 Direct Auction Galleries Chicago, auction 6. July, Lot#274.
Unknown private collection, likely USA.