GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Max Liebermann painted Swimmers (Im Schwimmbad) while living in Paris, where he saw art that affirmed his interest in the realistic description of the lives of peasants and workers. While traveling on the coast of Holland, Liebermann sketched a group of young boys swimming. He took his sketches back to Paris and began intermittent work on this large canvas, completing it in a burst of activity in 1877. The boys are just finishing their swim, each caught in a different moment of leaving the water and dressing. They do not interact, and their isolated poses reveal Liebermann’s reliance on various sculptural sources. For instance, the boy at right tying his shoe quotes the Spinario (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome), a Roman sculpture of a seated boy pulling a thorn from the sole of his foot. The standing boy pulling his shirt over his head at center echoes Michelangelo’s unfinished sculpture Dying Slave (Musée du Louvre, Paris). Despite these historical references, the painting is decidedly modern, with a frank attention to the worn clothes and unidealized features of these working-class boys. Around 1920 Liebermann repainted some areas, notably the sea at upper right, in a looser style. This large and ambitious painting was among the earliest masterpieces by the artist, who was among the most important German painters of his generation. The addition of this work to the Museum collection in 1988 was a significant move toward a more inclusive (less France-centric) presentation of modern European art.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 192.
- Richard R. Brettell, "A Liebermann for Dallas: Max Liebermann's Swimmers," in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art, ed. Heather MacDonald (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013), 37-47.
NOTES
Confirmed all information from the 2001 research document is now entered in the provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography of TMS.
Provenance
Until at least 1894: Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Berlin [1]
Around 1924: Ernst Fischer (1899-1972), Berlin
By 1947: Galerie Gustav Rochlitz, Berlin/Paris [2]
By 1948- At least 1964: Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland [3]
By 1979: Private Collection, Switzerland
Mid 1980's- 1988: Herman Shickman Gallery, New York [4]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O'Hara Fund, purchased from Herman Shickman Gallery [5]
[1] Documentation in the object file indicates that the painting was still with Liebermann in 1894 but was lost when he moved from Munich to Berlin. It surfaced in the 1920's with the painter Ernst Fischer.
[2] Rochlitz's Paris gallery was opened by 1933, and he was in prison by 1947 for his collusion with the Nazis. Therefore, he had the painting at some point between 1924 and 1947.
[3] A letter from Konrad Bitterli at the Kunstmuseum in St. Gallen indicates that Galerie Fischer of Lucerne lent the painting to the 1948 Liebermann exhibition.
[4] A conversation with the Herman Shickman Gallery revealed that they obtained the painting in a trade with a London gallery in the mid-1980s, although records do not indicate the name of the gallery.
[5] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. In 1976, Mrs. John B. O’Hara bequest an endowment in her name to contribute to the Foundation’s collection. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
Did not tag with the UMO for Eakins, Swimmers because I entered the object number in Piction cataloguing.
Removed TMS tag because rule exists.
Removing fun fact that compares Libermann with Eakins and making it a CC-In Focus because it is too long to work well as a fun fact. (12/19/2016)
Adding "draft" tag back to note, Dec 19, 2016, as part of the revised harvest/route procedure. This note will be pulled into GDrive and manually moved to Queta's folders for final review. Update- January 18, 2017- Adding #routed tag so that I can easily keep track of this note in Evernote to confirm that it is eventually pushed into GDrive. As of January 18, 2017 the content is in Brain but not in GDrive so I am unable to finish revisions and mark it complete in Evernote or move the GDoc to Queta's folder.
Update Jan 31, 2017- removing the routed tag so that this note will be resubmitted to Nicky for review. The draft is in the Euro folder in GDrive.
Due to time constraints, I cannot add the following to Piction:
Spinario (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome)
Dying Slave (Musee du Louvre, Paris)
These works will be linked as web resources if possible.
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Holland : TGN
Process/materials
- oil paint : AAT
- canvas : AAT
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
- bathers: AAT: 300188634
- boys: AAT: 300247598
- nude: AAT
- swimmers: AAT: 300187982
- children: AAT: 300025945
- Jewish: AAT
- Impressionist (group): AAT
- Roman (ancient Italian style): AAT: 300020533
- Roman sculpture styles (ancient Italian sculpture styles): AAT: 300020600
- Michelangelo Buonarroti: ULAN: 500010654
- High Renaissance: AAT: 300021142
- sculpture: AAT
- working class: AAT: 300055485
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
Lecture- Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art- Brettell and Kosinski, 2003. Related objects- Liebermann and Frederic's Nature.
Both object numbers added to Piction.
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
Thomas Eakins, Swimming, 1885. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, 248949467: UMO
Object number added to Piction.
WEB RESOURCES
- Boy with Thorn (Spinario)~Check out the Wikipedia page for this influential, Greco-Roman sculpture.
- Viewpoints: Spinario~Watch the video and read the interpretation of this sculpture through this online feature of the Metropolitan Museum's website.
- The Dying Slave~Look at this photo of Michelangelo's sculpture available through Wikimedia.
- Michelangelo, The Dying Slave and The Rebellious Slave, 1513-15~Watch Smarthistory's video about these two sculptures.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1988.16.FA
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Max Liebermann painted Swimmers (Im Schwimmbad) while living in Paris, where he saw art that affirmed his interest in the realistic description of the lives of peasants and workers. While traveling on the coast of Holland, Liebermann sketched a group of young boys swimming. He took his sketches back to Paris and began intermittent work on this large canvas, completing it in a burst of activity in 1877. The boys are just finishing their swim, each caught in a different moment of leaving the water and dressing. They do not interact, and their isolated poses reveal Liebermann’s reliance on various sculptural sources. For instance, the boy at right tying his shoe quotes the Spinario (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome), a Roman sculpture of a seated boy pulling a thorn from the sole of his foot. The standing boy pulling his shirt over his head at center echoes Michelangelo’s unfinished sculpture Dying Slave (Musée du Louvre, Paris). Despite these historical references, the painting is decidedly modern, with a frank attention to the worn clothes and unidealized features of these working-class boys. Around 1920 Liebermann repainted some areas, notably the sea at upper right, in a looser style. This large and ambitious painting was among the earliest masterpieces by the artist, who was among the most important German painters of his generation. The addition of this work to the Museum collection in 1988 was a significant move toward a more inclusive (less France-centric) presentation of modern European art.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 192.
- Richard R. Brettell, "A Liebermann for Dallas: Max Liebermann's Swimmers," in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art, ed. Heather MacDonald (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013), 37-47.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Boy with Thorn (Spinario)~Check out the Wikipedia page for this influential, Greco-Roman sculpture.
- Viewpoints: Spinario~Watch the video and read the interpretation of this sculpture through this online feature of the Metropolitan Museum's website.
- The Dying Slave~Look at this photo of Michelangelo's sculpture available through Wikimedia.
- Michelangelo, The Dying Slave and The Rebellious Slave, 1513-15~Watch Smarthistory's video about these two sculptures.
Notes
Confirmed all information from the 2001 research document is now entered in the provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography of TMS.
Provenance
Until at least 1894: Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Berlin [1]
Around 1924: Ernst Fischer (1899-1972), Berlin
By 1947: Galerie Gustav Rochlitz, Berlin/Paris [2]
By 1948- At least 1964: Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland [3]
By 1979: Private Collection, Switzerland
Mid 1980's- 1988: Herman Shickman Gallery, New York [4]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O'Hara Fund, purchased from Herman Shickman Gallery [5]
[1] Documentation in the object file indicates that the painting was still with Liebermann in 1894 but was lost when he moved from Munich to Berlin. It surfaced in the 1920's with the painter Ernst Fischer.
[2] Rochlitz's Paris gallery was opened by 1933, and he was in prison by 1947 for his collusion with the Nazis. Therefore, he had the painting at some point between 1924 and 1947.
[3] A letter from Konrad Bitterli at the Kunstmuseum in St. Gallen indicates that Galerie Fischer of Lucerne lent the painting to the 1948 Liebermann exhibition.
[4] A conversation with the Herman Shickman Gallery revealed that they obtained the painting in a trade with a London gallery in the mid-1980s, although records do not indicate the name of the gallery.
[5] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. In 1976, Mrs. John B. O’Hara bequest an endowment in her name to contribute to the Foundation’s collection. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
Did not tag with the UMO for Eakins, Swimmers because I entered the object number in Piction cataloguing.
Removed TMS tag because rule exists.
Removing fun fact that compares Libermann with Eakins and making it a CC-In Focus because it is too long to work well as a fun fact. (12/19/2016)
Adding "draft" tag back to note, Dec 19, 2016, as part of the revised harvest/route procedure. This note will be pulled into GDrive and manually moved to Queta's folders for final review. Update- January 18, 2017- Adding #routed tag so that I can easily keep track of this note in Evernote to confirm that it is eventually pushed into GDrive. As of January 18, 2017 the content is in Brain but not in GDrive so I am unable to finish revisions and mark it complete in Evernote or move the GDoc to Queta's folder.
Update Jan 31, 2017- removing the routed tag so that this note will be resubmitted to Nicky for review. The draft is in the Euro folder in GDrive.
Due to time constraints, I cannot add the following to Piction:
Spinario (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome)
Dying Slave (Musee du Louvre, Paris)
These works will be linked as web resources if possible.
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Holland : TGN
Process/materials
- oil paint : AAT
- canvas : AAT
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
- bathers: AAT: 300188634
- boys: AAT: 300247598
- nude: AAT
- swimmers: AAT: 300187982
- children: AAT: 300025945
- Jewish: AAT
- Impressionist (group): AAT
- Roman (ancient Italian style): AAT: 300020533
- Roman sculpture styles (ancient Italian sculpture styles): AAT: 300020600
- Michelangelo Buonarroti: ULAN: 500010654
- High Renaissance: AAT: 300021142
- sculpture: AAT
- working class: AAT: 300055485
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
Lecture- Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art- Brettell and Kosinski, 2003. Related objects- Liebermann and Frederic's Nature.
Both object numbers added to Piction.
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1988.16.FA
source file
object_notes_2_d-0330.xml.nores