Conrad Kiesel, SUNDAY

43.2 x 32.3cm - oil, mahogany board signed p.d.: Conrad Kiesel. Df.

On the back l.g. number (in black crayon): 708 [framed]; central oval sticker (painted over); below, sticker of a London firm offering painting materials: PREPARED PANEL | [drawing: lion-herb-unicorn] | WINSOR & NEWTON, | ARTISTS' COLOURMEN | To Her Majesty | AND TO | T. R. H. THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES, | 38, RATHBONE PLACE, W. | AND | NORTH LONDON COLOR WORKS, KENTISH TOWN, N.W.

Conrad Kiesel (Düsseldorf 1846 - Berlin 1921) was a versatile artist - a German painter, sculptor and architect. He first studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Architecture and then sculpture under Fritz Schaper. After sculpture, he decided to pursue painting in Berlin under Fritz Paulsen and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, where he became a pupil of Wilhelm Sohn.

In 1885, Kiesel settled in Berlin, and as a painter, from 1870 he regularly presented his works at exhibitions of the Academy of Fine Arts. He practiced salon painting and most often depicted young, beautiful girls or women, often in opulent interiors. He perfectly conveyed the realism of the subject matter, which also contributed to the artist's great success. Kiesel was probably the best portrait painter of his time, and his works were awarded several gold medals at exhibitions of the Berlin Academy. He also exhibited at the Academy in Düsseldorf, the Glass Palace in Munich, the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, the Vienna Annual Exhibitions in 1872, 1891 and 1892, and the Royal Academy in London in 1909.