Premiere Display of "Visit to Gallery", a Painting by August Ludwig Most

"Visit to Gallery" is the thirteenth painting by August Ludwig Most in the collection of The National Museum in Szczecin (besides "Most's File" containing 70 works and the artist's sketchbooks). The work of art has been purchased by The Society of Friends of The National Museum in Szczecin and is a long-term deposit at the Szczecin Museum. 

"Visit to Gallery" by August Ludwig Most may be viewed at the Biedermeier Room (2nd floor) at The National Museum in Szczecin - The Szczecin History Museum (Old Town Hall, ul. Księcia Mściwoja 8). The Museum is open from Thursday to Sunday between 12.00 at noon and 6.00 P.M. 

A special folder containing the artist's bio and descriptions of all his works in the Museum collection has been prepared for its Visitors. 

  

The painting depicts a visit to painter's contemporary art gallery. It is partly the artist's reflection on his own profession and on the perception of the effects of his own work - works that are created with the audience in mind. Above all, however, the painting is an anecdotal genre scene, spotted by Most, perhaps in the Old Pinakothek in Munich, showing not only the artist's sense of humour, but also his interest in regional culture.

A painting gallery has been visited by a peasant family wearing traditional clothers of Schwalm region south of Kassel region in Hesse (Schwälmertrachten). Looking at a female act hanging on the wall, two young girls react with spontaneous laughter, the man standing next to it, probably their father, is staring at the work with obvious admiration, while his wife is looking at it with clear disapproval. 

Other visitors are looking at the works gathered in the temple of art: a man in the background is looking at the high-hanging painting through binoculars; another one, sitting on a couch, is reading a catalogue, a cylinder, gloves and a walking stick lying next to him. This painting was created in 1849 perhaps at the request of this elegant man, portrayed in the composition.

Wizyta w galerii 1

 TPMNS logo

Carl August Ludwig Most – born on March 10th 1807 as the seventh son of Anna Charlotte nee Engel and Johann Christian Most, a locksmith, a member of the elders of the guild – began his artistic education in a traditional way, as an apprentice of master Thiele from Stargard, obtaining a diploma in 1825.

His hard work, talent, and probably the support of his family home enabled him to continue his studies at the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin (Königliche Preußische Akademie der Künste). He began his studies in 1825 and continued them until 1830. At first, he attended the drawing class of Ferdinand Collmann (1763–1837). In 1826, he studied in the landscape class of Peter Ludwig Lütke (1759–1831), the famous landscape painter and graphic artist, father of Ludwig Eduard, and in the plaster class of Johann Gottfried Niedlich (1766–1837), an artist specializing in historical painting. Beginning from the second year of his studies, he began to show his works at exhibitions of the Berlin academy and did it until the 1850s.

In 1828, he returned to Pomerania for a moment and worked in Stargard. At the same time, he continued his education in the studio of Berlin historical painter Heinrich Lengerich (1790–1865), his compatriot. In 1829, among other things, he took drawing lessons from a live model with Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764–1850) - the then director of the academy. In the same year, he joined an association of young artists operating in Berlin - Verein jüngeren Künstler.

The next stage of August Ludwig Most's professional development was Dresden, where he began his independent creative activity and started a family, marrying Karoline Krüger (1805–1840) in 1831. After her death he remarried Laura Fritz (1812–1900). Two of his six children were born in Dresden, which was reflected in the paintings created at that time.

In 1834, the artist returned to his hometown of Szczecin. Shortly after his return, he held the first Szczecin exhibition of his achievements to date - it is worth mentioning here that it was the first exhibition devoted to one artist in Szczecin.

Ludwig August Most was, next to theologian and lawyer Peter Heinrich Remy and director of the St Mary's Foundation school Karl Friedrich Wilhelm, one of the initiators of the first Szczecin association Kunstverein für Pommern, the aim of which was to shape and satisfy the aesthetic needs of the townspeople and develop the local creative environment. The association organized exhibitions, sold paintings and its members drew lots for original works. August Ludwig Most participated regularly in these exhibitions until 1873.

The need to maintain his growing family, and above all, his passion for working with children and young people caused that in December 1841 he became a drawing teacher in Szczecin high schools, initially at the St. Mary's Foundation school, then also at the Frederick William school, and since 1871 also in the Municipal Gymnasium.

A. L. Most was a valued portrait painter – his works in this field hung in both Szczecin public interiors (he was, among others, the creator of a gallery of Pomeranian Dukes and professors of abovementionned St. Mary's Foundation School), as well as private mansions of Szczecin and Pomeranian burgeoisie and aristocracy. He specialised in genre scenes. Numerous compositions by this artist, likewise nineteenth-century Realist novel, seem to be a mirror in which everyday life sees itself – sometimes it looks somehow corrected and stylized. Naturalist manner of presenting images recalls paintings of Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. Genre scenes, initiated during the time of Biedermeier and popular through the whole nineteenth century, located at inns and taverns, became typical middle-class-taste interior decorations and were commonly called "Pseudo-Dutch" pictures. 

Numerous paintings by A. L. Most show his interest in local, Pomeranian folk motifs: apearance of both people as well as interiors and equipment. Most's interest in folclore, originating from the spirit of Romanticism, places his output among Germany's popular ethnographical genre images of the first half of the nineteenth century. Sometimes he painted, appreciated by his viewers, vedutes, architectural views and landscapes, usually enriching them with genre staffage. He also created copies of paintings by old masters. One of his disciples was Eugen Dekkert (1865–1956), valued nowadays. 

He was active until his death on June 27th 1883. He was buried at Grabower Cemetery located behind the Royal Gate. 

By Dariusz Kacprzak PhD,  Ewa Gwiazdowska PhD