This late 19th-century oil painting by German artist Meyer Von Bremen (1813-1886) depicts a doting grandmother reading a story to her three beloved grandchildren.

Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen was a distinguished painter of biblical and genre scenes. Considered the foremost German painter of his type, the popularity of his idyllic vignettes was phenomenal. According to the critics, “there were few American collections without at least one Meyer von Bremen”.

During his early years, he was thrust into the role of breadwinner following the premature death of his father. As a result, he worked tirelessly to hone his drawing skills in an effort to raise enough income for basic necessities. Portraits for willing patrons generated a welcome supply of funds. A precocious talent, he soon developed a glowing reputation.

In 1833, he travelled to Düsseldorf where he enrolled at the Kunstakademie, which was led by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow (1789-1862). At this point in time, Düsseldorf was at the centre of the art world and provided the zealous young man with a solid foundation. Advanced draughtsmanship was paramount to his academic teaching and would underpin his future endeavours. Fellow students included the eminent landscape painter, Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910), and the Norwegian romanticist, Hans Fredrik Gude (1825-1903). Both became close friends.

His early works were predominantly religious, depicting various scenes from the Bible - such as the ‘Woe of Christ over Jerusalem’ and ‘Abraham, the patriarch, surrounded by Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael’. But, by the early 1840s, he switched to his raison d'etre, depicting wholesome familial scenes within exquisitely detailed settings.

Here, in this piece from 1880, three children are captivated by ‘Grandmother’s Story’. Each clamouring for the next chapter. Toys are abandoned, strewn across the floor, too trivial when compared to the wily narrator.

Sentimental visions of poetical family life were in colossal demand across the Atlantic and Meyer von Bremen was highly sought after. A critic remarked that he couldn’t produce enough to satisfy the market as the small size of his works coupled with their “lively tone” and “delicacy of finish” made them “peculiarly valuable as parlour pictures.” As such, prices skyrocketed with pieces exchanging hands for over $4,000, which equates to around $120,000 today. Indeed, this piece sold for $4,000 in 1881 to Mary Frances Hopkins of San Francisco, later known as Mary Frances Hopkins Searles, one of America’s wealthiest women.

His acute portrayals rendered not only an image but also a narrative - they draw the viewer in, enchanted by a tale. Much like the grandchildren listening intently, we’re holding our breath for the next revelation.

Meyer von Bremen’s success was rewarded with various accolades including membership of both the Amsterdam and Berlin academies. He was also knighted with the Order of Leopold. Following his death, as tastes changed, his misty-eyed lyricism became yesterday’s news. But, as we look back across a monumental oeuvre of over 1,000 paintings, he remains one of the leading lights of the mid-19th century. And as one critic put it, he “stood for all that was beautiful”.

He’s represented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Signed/dated lower left and held within a gilt frame.

Learn more about Meyer Von Bremen in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 23” x 29” / 59cm x 74cm
Year of creation: 1880
Labels & Inscriptions: Exhibition label (probably from the Royal Academy in Berlin) / Ownership labels relating to Edward F Byrnes of Pine Lodge, Methuen, Massachusetts.
Provenance: M. Knoedler & Co of New York, Art Dealer (purchased from the artist in 1880) / Mary Hopkins Searles (Bought from M. Knoedler & Co of New York for $4,000 in 1881) / Following the death of Mary Hopkins Searles, it was left with her husband Edward Francis Searles, who was an architect / On his death, it passed to his niece, Mary Allen Rowland nee Smith (c.1882-1970). She married Edward Francis Byrnes, an art connoisseur and collector to whom a label on the reverse refers. / Private collection, Germany.
Exhibited: Royal Academy, Berlin, 1880 no. 477.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Canvas relined. Fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable.
Artist’s auction maximum: £86,000 for ‘Brüderchen Schläft (1883)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby's, 19th Century European Paintings - Drawings And Sculpture, New York, United States, 1996 (lot 65).
Our reference: BRV1856