A Dead Oak Tree

c. 1830

Carl Wilhelm Kolbe

Associated Names
Carl Wilhelm Kolbe

Artist, German, 1759 - 1835

The image shows a gnarled tree with twisted branches and a textured trunk. The horizon is low in the frame, with more trees visible in the distance. The brushstrokes are precise and detailed, capturing the texture of the tree. The color palette is monochromatic with sepia tones. The ground is scattered with plants and leaves, and there is a figure sitting by the tree.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    plate: 36.8 x 52.3 cm (14 1/2 x 20 9/16 in.)
    sheet: 37 x 52.5 cm (14 9/16 x 20 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.92.325

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Martens 1976, no. 269, State iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Heinrich Kaspar Lempertz Sr. [1816-1898], Cologne (Lugt 1337). (Lutz Riester, Freiburg im Breisgau); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased December 18, 2002; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2014

  • Modern German Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014.

Bibliography

1920

  • Jentsch, Ernst. "Der Radierer Carl Wilhelm Kolbe, 1757 Berlin-1835 Dessau." Unpublished dissertation. Breslau, 1920: no. 206.

1976

  • Martens, Ulf. Der Zeichner und Radierer C. W. Kolbe. Berlin, 1976: no. 269, iv.

Inscriptions

above image, at top right: VI

Wikidata ID

Q76556629

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