This early 20th-century interior scene by Robert Panitzsch (1879-1949) celebrates a loving moment within a spacious well-kept interior. Daylight bursts through a tall window where a mother reads quietly. Her daughter looks intently on, paying close attention to the tale unfolding. Around them, a variety of period furniture and two colourful artworks. This is the artist’s home - a place he treasured and painted often.

Robert Panitzsch produced numerous interior scenes depicting women in calm settings. Many of these feature similar furnishings, such as the dining chair we see here, and it’s safe to assume that it’s the same home. It’s also plausible that the seated woman, who he also painted on other occasions, is his wife, Fanny. She would’ve been 46 in 1934. If that is the case, perhaps the young girl is his own daughter. The ancestry records are unclear but our research is ongoing.

Learn more about Robert Panitzsch in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 44” x 36” / 112cm x 92cm
Year of creation: 1934
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £10,000 achieved for ‘In The Rose Garden’ at Christie’s in 1990.