Paar in der Stube. 1890.
Oil on canvas.
Signed lower left, dated "/90" lower right. 65,5 x 84,5 cm (25,7 x 33,2 in).

PROVENANCE: Private collection Southern Germany.

Walter Firle joined the Munich Academy in 1879 and was student of Alois Gabl, Ludwig von Löfftz and Gabriel von Hackel. However, just three years later he had to give up his studies for financial reasons. Selling a few paintings enabled him to go on journeys to Italy and Holland, where the plein-air art of Jozef Israël had great impact on him. His palette’s light coloring and his sophisticated colorism, which also characterizes this scene of a distanced relationship, contributed to Firle’s growing popularity soon after his return. In 1890 he was given the honor title ‘Royal Professor. Paintings by Walter Firle are in possession of the Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig and the Neue Pinakothek, Munich. [JS].