In the Hammock, 1876

Dimensions: 107.0 x 147.0 cm

Physical Description: Oil on canvas

Inventory Number: SG 22

Acquisition: Acquired in 1908 with funds provided by the Pfungst-Stiftung

Status: Not on display

Texts

About the Work

The perfect idyll: swinging idly in the hammock in the shady garden. Thoma painted this scene the year before his marriage to the flower painter Cella Berteneder. It shows his future bride with a child in her lap. And yet they both look annoyingly stiff, as if they do not know each other very well. The luxuriant green of the setting in which they seem to be floating becomes unsettlingly gloomy in the background. What at first sight seems to be a tranquil picture of mother and child leads the viewer - upon closer examination - into a strange dream world.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: In the Hammock

Painter

Hans Thoma

Period Produced

19th century

School

Object Type

painting (artwork)

Physical Description: Oil on canvas

Material

canvas

Technique

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Monogrammiert und datiert unten links: HTh (ligiert) 76.

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Departement

Modern Art 1800–1945

Collection

Städtische Galerie

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: Public Domain

Acquisition: Acquired in 1908 with funds provided by the Pfungst-Stiftung

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

portrait

Main Motif

Persons Shown

Iconclass

Primary

41A762 hammock
42B742 mother and child(ren), woman and child(ren) (family group)
61BB2(THOMA, Cella)12(+55) historical person (THOMA, Cella) - BB - woman - historical person (THOMA, Cella) in a double-portrait (+ full length portrait)
61BB2(THOMA, Ella)12(+55) historical person (THOMA, Ella) - BB - woman - historical person (THOMA, Ella) in a double-portrait (+ full length portrait)