A special work of art

A rarely exhibited large painting by August Macke may be viewed in the garden room on the ground floor of the artist's former home and studio.

A young woman stands turned toward the viewer in a lush, green, flower and vegetable garden against the backdrop of soft hills and houses. With her dark hair pinned up as worn by Elisabeth Macke, the figure immediately recalls the artist's wife. A peaceful and harmonious, paradise-like scene as was not uncommon in Macke's work.

The painting was done in 1911 when the artist and his family had just moved into their home at the corner of Bornheimer Strasse and Hochstadenring in Bonn. At that time Macke was fond of portraying nearby motifs from the still rural outskirts of town. To do so he simply gazed out the window of his attic studio: toward the Marienkirche, the garden behind the house, the Victoria Bridge, and the hustle and bustle in the streets below. 
 
Macke's painting shows no specific garden. But it is typical of those frequently found in Macke's day - and that still exist - with cabbage, lettuce, colorful flowers, and the typical form of homes in and around Bonn in the Rhineland's Vorgebirge landscape north of the city. 

Macke sold the painting in 1912 at an exhibition of his work at the Jenaer Kunstverein. Since then it was publicly displayed only once. Some time ago the current owner contacted the August Macke House Museum and made the work available on loan. It may be viewed here until June 2021.