The Game Warden, Fernand Khnopff
Fernand Khnopff
The Game Warden
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Fernand Khnopff

The Game Warden, 1883


Dimensions
151.0 x 176.5 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
1805
Acquisition
Acquired in 1926 as a gift from Walther Ratenau’s mother in Memory of her son
Status
On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 6

Texts

About the Work

The landscapes the Belgian Symbolist Khnopff painted around Fosset in the Ardennes at different times of his life are mostly deserted. This painting, too, seems strangely lifeless, in spite of the presence of the game warden. Seemingly withdrawn, he is standing stiff as a board in the meadow. As if he had been added to the unspectacular setting with hindsight, he is not even casting a shadow. This shows that the artist was concerned not with the representation of exterior reality but with inner awareness.

About the Acquisition

At the request of Mathilde Rathenau (1845-1926), a native of Frankfurt, a number of paintings were presented to the Städel in 1926 in memory of her son Walther Rathenau (1867-1922). Walther Rathenau, an industrialist and one of the co-founders of the German Democratic Party, was appointed foreign minister in January 1922. In June of that year he was assassinated in Berlin by the Organisation Consul, whose aim was to fight the Weimar Constitution.

Audio & Video

  • Basic information
    01:25
  • Focus on art history
    01:44
  • Focus on cultural history
    01:16
  • KunstIStück – Fernand Khnopff: Der Jagdaufseher
    Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. Fernand Khnopff: Der Jagdaufseher, 1883, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main. https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/der-jagdaufseher#yt

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
The Game Warden
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert unten rechts: FERNAND KHNOPFF. 1883

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1926 as a gift from Walther Ratenau’s mother in Memory of her son

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif

Iconclass

Primary
Secondary
  • 41A16 rural housing, e.g. country-house, villa, cottage
  • 25H17 meadow, pasture
  • 25G3 trees

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
...
Walther Rathenau (1867-1922), Berlin
Nachlass Walther Rathenau, Berlin, 1922
Vermächtnis Mathilde Rathenau-Nachmann (1845-1926), Berlin zum Andenken an ihren Sohn Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1926.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

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Last update

25.04.2024