This mid-20th-century oil on canvas by German artist Wilhelm Gdanietz (1893-1969) depicts a woman peeling potatoes within a rustic interior.
Sitting by a window to catch the last of the day’s light, she’s perched on a stool with clogs off. A fishing net hangs alongside together with a vast green jug. Gdanietz has rendered the scene superbly and the colours are extraordinary.
Gdanietz led a difficult life but overcame the odds to become a very successful painter. At the age of two, he became deaf following a bout of scarlet fever, which led to him spending much of his childhood at a ‘deaf and dumb’ institution. During this time, he must’ve found great solace in his art as, by the age of 19, he gained access to the Academy in Düsseldorf.
His style was firmly rooted in the past and he was particularly inspired by the Dutch old masters. For a while, he moved to Holland where he ran a studio in Volendam. He produced many interior scenes during this period and his works gained popularity following museum exhibitions.
In 1930, he retired to Düsseldorf where he lived in a cottage decorated with Delft tiles and Dutch antiques. It seems that the Netherlands remained close to his heart throughout his life.
Signed in the lower right. Currently unframed but it would hang nicely as a canvas.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 27½” x 31½” / 70cm x 80cm
Year of creation: c. 1940
Condition: Artwork presents well.
Wilhelm Gdanietz studied at the Düsseldorf Academy with Claus Meyer, Karl-Franz-Eduard von Gebhardt and Willy Spatz. Also an apprentice of Franz Kiederich.
Learn more about Wilhelm Gdanietz in our directory.
We care profoundly about our role as custodians and every piece in the collection has been assessed by our conservator. When required, we undertake professional restoration carefully using reversible techniques and adopt a light touch to retain the aged charm of each work. We also often restore frames rather than replace them as many are original and selected by the artists themselves.
