Mephistopheles in Auerbachs Keller zu Goethes "Faust" (unvollendet)
Mephistopheles in Auerbach's Cellar from Goethe's "Faust" (unfinished)
Kunstpalast - Horst Kolberg - ARTOTHEK

Mephistopheles in Auerbach's Cellar from Goethe's "Faust" (unfinished), after 1848

ArtistAdolf Schroedter, Schwedt an der Oder 1805–1875 Karlsruhe
Oil over black ink and tempera, over leadpoint squaring, on canvas
Dimensions without frame90,2 × 119,5 cm
Dimensions with frame98,5 × 127,7 × 5,5 cm
Status
on display, room 010.2
About the workIn Goethe’s famous tragedy, Mephistopheles – the devil – takes the titular hero Faust to a student tavern to lead him astray. He tells Faust to see “how easy it is to live. Every day is a celebration for the people here.” Adolph Schroedter, who worked in Düsseldorf for many years, focused his attention on the student revellers. The finished picture is now missing, but this unfinished version has been preserved and shows how Schroedter sketched it. A grid helped him to transfer the motif from the already completed painting or a preparatory drawing.
AccessionAcquisition 2009
ProvenanceSpätestens ab 1875 Nachlass des Künstlers; o.D. Sammlung Ernestine Adeline Gertrud Schroedter (Kiel 5.7.1879 - 2.4.1973), Enkelin des Künstlers, Schloss Talheim, Heilbronn, erworben im Erbgang; ab ca. 1952 Dauerleihgabe zu Studienzwecken im Restaurierungszentrum der Stadt Düsseldorf, überlassen von Vorgenannter; 1973 an die Nichten der Vorgenannten, Heilbronn und Seeon, erworben im Erbgang; 1984 Galerie Paffrath, Düsseldorf, erworben von Vorgenannten für das Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf (heute Kunstpalast); 30.10.2009 angekauft von der Galerie Paffrath
Inventory numbermkp M 2009-2
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