Lot 53: GOTTLIEB THEODORE KEMPF VON HARTENKAMPF (1871-1964) DAS IRRLICHT (WILL-O'-THE-WISP)

GOTTLIEB THEODORE KEMPF VON HARTENKAMPF (1871-1964)
DAS IRRLICHT (WILL-O'-THE-WISP)
signed l.r.: G.T.H. Kempf, oil on canvas
45cm by 39.4cm;17 1/2in by 15 1/2in
Kempf attended the Academy in Vienna from 1886 to 1896 studying under J.V.Berger and L.K.Mueller. A significant figure in the turn-of-the-twentieth century Viennese art scene he showed with the Vienna Succession in 1899 and was also a member of the Siebener Club and Wiener Kunstlerhaus. The present work is a strong example of his work which assimilates the influence of the Succession and Art Nouveau with a strongly symbolist style of his own. He also excelled as an etcher and illustrator and is represented in numerous museum collections in Continental Europe.