Oil Painting, 'The Halt of the Travellers', Gottlieb August Bauer, German School, ca. 1850-1868

An oil painting depicting a group of soldiers in 17th-century costume making camp for the night at the base of a hill. The sun is setting in the background.

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend

Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, listed in the 1868 post-mortem register of the contents of his Lausanne villa (V&A R/F MA/1/T1181) as 'An Oil on canvas. The Halt of the Travellers. By Aug. Bauer. In frame. Signed. German. Dated. Present Century'; bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, 1868.

Historical significance: This painting is a fine example of the Munich artist Gottlieb August Bauer of whom very little is known. The present painting is reminiscent of the 17th-century Dutch compositions as well as some works by Salvator Rosa and Jacques Courtois.
This type of anecdotic scenes with soldiers was quite popular in the 17th century and was inspired by the Thirty Year War. Bauer executed a painting directly related to this event sold Dobiaschofsky, Bern, 13 may 2009, lot 610.
Another version of the same composition as the V&A painting with only some slight changes in the disposition of the figures was sold at Auktionshaus Kaupp, Castle Sulzburg, 16 May 2009, lot 1332. These paintings present two different moment of the day: the V&A version is a day light scene whereas the Kaupp version is by night. This difference reflects the artist's interest for the rendering of different weather conditions. Particularly interesting in both paintings is the large atmospheric sky, which drew upon earlier Dutch examples but is also representative of the Romantic interest for the dramatic aspect of nature.

This work was probably executed by the artist Gottlieb August Bauer (1828-1913) who seemed to have spent his entire life in Munich. Only a few of his works are known and they all present the same type of subject matter and format. This work is a fine example of the 17th-century Dutch imagery revival. It depicts soldiers in 17th-century costume set in a wide landscape dominated by large atmospheric sky. The interest in dramatic effects of light is typical of the landscape painters of the first half of the 19th century still under the influence of the Romantic movement.

1608-1869