Rare German Antique Painting “After Church” by Karl Friedrich Boser circa 1860

KARL FRIEDRICH BOSER
German, 1809-1881

After Church

Oil on canvas | signed to column mid-right "F. Boser" | circa 1860

27 7/8" H x 22 1/2" W [canvas]
34 1/8" H x 29" W x 2 3/4" D [frame]

Vibrant and crisp, this extraordinary painting by Karl Friedrich Boser depicts three young children as they are leaving church after Sunday services, the young man placing coins in the offering box while his older sister searches her garment for her own offerings.

Boser painted this scene several times, apparently always with the same canvas dimensions. While his work is exceedingly rare on the open-market, an example of this scene was offered in New York, 26 October 1983 where it achieved $ 10,000 USD. Sixteen years later an example was offered at Phillips in London (23 March 1999), where it achieved 14,000 GBP ($ 22,290 USD at the time of sale). These were painted with minute differences between them and the present example in garments, accessories, some color choices and the activity seen in the background of the church. The figure of the youngest sister in the forefront bears very close resemblence to his portrait of a The Little Flower Seller, a painting Boser also painted several times starting in the 1840s.

Other examples of his work in the 28" x 22" dimension include Two Little Flower Sellers, which achieved 28,000 DM ($ 16,641 USD) when offered at Bolland & Marotz on 13 April 1991, and The Sibling Couple, which achieved 22,000 DM ($ 15,746 USD) at Van Ham Kunstauktionen at their sale on 20 October 1995.

The painting is signed on the wall of the church on the right side (mid quadrant) "F. Boser".

An exceedingly fine acquisition.

KARL FRIEDRICH BOSER
Karl Friedrich Boser was born in Düsseldorf, Germany on November 13th of 1809. He studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts from 1826 through 1832, completing his studies in painting and art history at the Academy in Düsseldorf from 1841 through 1843. He later became a member of the Artists Association Malkasten.

He specialised in paintings of young children, these being very popular scenes during the second-half of the nineteenth century, as well as portraiture and genre compositions with vivid story-telling.

His best-known works are The Little Flower Seller and his portraits of the Important People of Düsseldorf. The latter painting hangs in the permanent collection of the museum in Düsseldorf. Further works in museum collections are The Broom Seller (Hanover) and Serious Problem (Wroclaw).

Artist Listings & Bibliography:

E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. II, Gründ, 2006, p. 912-913

Condition Report:
In very fine original condition, ready-to-place. Unlined. Cleaned by our conservator and a fresh Damar varnish applied; under UV examination, the surface appears to be free of any inpainting or restoration; frame is not original to the paintings, likely from the first half of the 20th century - frame has been restored with shrinkage cracks remaining and visible in the plaster.

ref. 312ZSB08X