August Kraus, Landscape With Pond

August Kraus, Landscape With PondThis late 19th century oil painting by German artist August Kraus (1852 1917) depicts a pond before a wood. On this day in Summer, a light breeze rustled the huddled leaves of the compact woodland. Drifting across the tremulous grasses, which vibrate by the shimmering water. The pond is alive rippling with hazy reflections and sharp golden tints. While the sky is ebullient and abundant with billowing clouds. Its a masterful work by an artist

She reminds us a little of Grace Kelly’s effortless style so perhaps she’s also an actress or model

Scattered paint losses and the canvas is a little undulant

The painting is housed within a solid wooden frame with stepped sides and a border

possibly Mary Magdalene

Signed/dated in the lower right and held within its original frame

has captured the expression of a young man at the start of his promising career

It’s intriguing to consider how the portrait came into being - is it to emphasise his teeth-pulling abilities

For further reading

the villagers initiated a great feast

via ancestry records

Note how Bolt has intelligently guided the viewer by using a large crooked tree as a visual waypoint

Life is arduous despite their picturesque surroundings