Young Cowherd (In the Meadow / Girl with a Cow), 1896

Coloured pastel on brown paper, originally mounted on a stretcher, 55.0 x 77.0 cm (sheet size), signed and dated lower right

With a written expert report by Dr Margreet Nouwen, Berlin. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of works on paper currently in preparation.

Provenance

Hans Weidenbusch Art Gallery, Wiesbaden (until 1899); private collection, Berlin (1900, recorded by H. Rosenhagen); Eduard Schulte, Berlin / Wiesbaden / Cologne; Carl Dietrich, Wiesbaden (until 1904); private collection, Berlin (1906); Max Adler, Berlin (1914); Bruno and Sadie Adriani Collection, Berlin (until late 1930) / Geneva (until late 1936) / California (until autumn 1941) / Carmel-by-the-Sea (California; from autumn 1941); Rose Marie Chamberlin, Los Angeles (inherited from the above); private collection, Los Angeles (received as a gift from the above between 1985 and 1989)

Exhibitions

On permanent loan to the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco (early 1960s to late 1980s)

Literature

J. M. Heberle: Catalogue of the Picture Gallery, Section II, belonging to the private scholar Mr Hans Weidenbusch of Wiesbaden. Auction in Cologne … on 5 June 1899 … conducted by J. M. Heberle (H. Lempertz’s Sons). Cologne, May 1899, p. 13, Lot 14 (with illustration): “Liebermann, Max ... 14. In the Meadow. In the foreground of a vast meadow, a peasant girl, busy with her knitting, walking behind a grazing cow. A superbly executed pastel. ...”

Ulrich Thieme / Richard Paul: Kunstchronik. Weekly Journal of Art and Arts and Crafts. (Preliminary auction report on the sale of the collection of the Hans Weidenbusch Picture Gallery, Wiesbaden, at J. M. Heberle [H. Lempertz’s Sons]) Leipzig, 25 May 1899, Issue No. 26, col. 416: “No. 14. M. Liebermann (In the Meadow).”

Ulrich Thieme / Richard Paul: Kunstchronik. Weekly Journal of Art and Arts and Crafts. (Results of the Weidenbusch Collection) Leipzig, 8 June 1899, Issue No. 27, col. 448: “No. 14. Liebermann, In the Meadow, 4300 M.”

Hans Rosenhagen / Hermann Knackfuß: Artist Monograph XLV. Liebermann. Leipzig/Bielefeld, 1900, p. 83, fig. 87: “Girl with Cow (1897). Pastel. In a private collection in Berlin.” (listed under the title “Girl with Cow” and incorrectly dated 1897)

Ernst Arthur Seemann: The Art Market. A weekly journal for connoisseurs and collectors. Supplement to the Journal of Fine Arts. (General report on the forthcoming auction at Lepke) Leipzig, 11 March 1904, No. 23, p. 153: “A very substantial auction is scheduled at Rudolph Lepke’s [...] 237 modern paintings are to go under the hammer, [...] including works of the highest order [...] amongst them. [...] by Liebermann, one of his ‘Weide’ pastels”

Rudolph Lepke: Oil paintings and watercolours by modern masters of the first rank. Collections of Ed. Himmelbauer, Vienna. Carl Dietrich, Wiesbaden. (Auction catalogue of Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus) Berlin, 15 March 1904, catalogue 1375, p. 14, Lot 100, illustration on Plate IV: “Max Liebermann ... In a flat Dutch landscape, a little girl, knitting, drives a cow to pasture. A beautiful pastel. ...”

Ernst Arthur Seemann: The Art Market. Weekly magazine for connoisseurs and collectors. Supplement to the Journal of Fine Arts. (Results of the auction at Lepke) Leipzig, 25 March 1904, No. 25, p. 172: “Cat. No. 100 Liebermann, M., [...] Pastel. 1,700 marks”

Richard Muther (ed.) / Rudolf Klein: Die Kunst. Max Liebermann. Berlin, 15 December 1906, Vol. 55/56, p. 136: “List of major works [...] Girl with a Cow 1897. Private collection in Berlin.” (also listed here under the title “Girl with a Cow” and incorrectly dated 1897)

Letter from Eduard Schulte (Berlin/Düsseldorf/Cologne) in Berlin to Gustav Pauli dated 19 April 1909

Berthold Daun: Nineteenth-Century and Contemporary Art. Berlin, 1909, p. 527

Erich Hanke: Max Liebermann. His Life and Works. (with catalogue raisonné) Berlin 1914, p. 537, under 1896: “Girl with a Cow. Pastel on cardboard. 55 x 75 cm. Max Adler.”

Matthias Eberle: Max Liebermann. Catalogue raisonné of paintings and oil studies. 1900–1935.Munich, 1996, p. 388, listed under WV 1891/5

Light, colour, rural life:

The cowherd in the Pastel

When I first encountered this work, it was above all the unexpected luminosity of the colours that immediately caught my eye. Despite the calm, almost casual-seeming scene, the pastel exudes a remarkable visual presence. The colour scheme possesses a freshness and intensity that instantly captivates the eye and lends the sheet an astonishing painterly depth. In the vibrant green expanses of the pasture, the warm, earthy tones of the figures and the delicate transitions of the sky, a finely tuned colour composition emerges, transforming the apparent simplicity of the motif into a complex atmospheric phenomenon. Even at this first glance, the sheet appears less like a quick sketch and more like a self-contained pictorial form of surprising intensity.

This impression becomes even clearer upon closer inspection of the surface texture. The layers of pastel are unusually dense; the pigments do not merely lie loosely on the paper, but in many areas form an almost compact layer of colour. It is particularly in the green areas of the meadow that one can see how Max Liebermann superimposes different shades with short, rhythmically placed strokes, thereby creating a lively, vibrating texture of colour. A finely balanced interplay of nuances emerges between cool, slightly bluish shades of green and warmer, yellowish sections. This dense, almost impasto-like application of the pastel lends the sheet a distinct physicality of colour.

It is precisely this unusually compact use of colour that gives the work an almost painterly presence. Unlike many pastels, which are characterised by their loose and sketch-like appearance, this sheet possesses a remarkable unity across the picture plane. Although the figure of the cowherd stands out clearly from the background, she remains firmly integrated into the landscape; her contours dissolve into coloured gradients rather than being defined by hard lines. The depiction of the cow also follows this principle: volume and physicality arise less from drawn outlines than from the subtle gradation of tonal values within the areas of colour. This creates an impression of painterly substance, which brings the pastel significantly closer in effect to a painting.

Only on closer inspection does it become clear that this pastel occupies a special place within the body of work. Contrary to what might appear at first glance, this is not merely a preparatory sketch. Although in the late 19th century the pastel was frequently used as a means of producing quick preliminary studies for larger paintings, in this instance the genesis of the work is the reverse. The directly comparable oil study is now in the Pushkin Museum, whilst another related work is held at the Kunsthalle Bremen. The pastel was created only after these oil studies and should therefore not be understood as a preparatory sketch, but as an independent artistic interpretation of the motif.

This sequence of events also explains the remarkably confident handling of the composition. The arrangement of the figures appears deliberate and calm, without seeming contrived. The cowherd stands slightly to one side of the space, whilst the animal is positioned beside her in a natural, almost casual posture. A quiet yet palpable relationship emerges between the two: not a dramatic interaction, but an everyday closeness arising from their shared integration into the landscape. The expanse of the pasture opens up the pictorial space towards the background and creates a sense of air and distance, which is further enhanced by the lighter tones of the background.
 

It is precisely through the medium of pastel that Liebermann is able to display a particular sensitivity to the effects of light here. Unlike in many of his oil paintings, where the tonal range is more condensed, the light in this sheet appears comparatively clear and immediate. The areas of colour remain partially translucent; individual brushstrokes remain visible and create a vibrant surface texture. At the same time, the dense layering of the pigments prevents any purely sketch-like effect. Instead, a balance emerges between the openness of the pastel technique and an unusually cohesive pictorial effect.

This focus on the visible is closely linked to Liebermann’s artistic development. Following his formative years of study in Paris, where he engaged intensively with realism and plein air painting, he deliberately turned away from academic history painting. Instead of historical or literary subjects, he became increasingly interested in scenes of everyday life. It was particularly in the Netherlands that he found the motifs that corresponded to his conception of modern painting: the flat landscape, the even light and the simple rural labour.

It is in this context that the motif of the cowherd also takes on its significance. It is not a heroic subject in the traditional sense, but a scene from everyday rural life. Nevertheless, Liebermann succeeds in imbuing this seemingly unspectacular situation with a dignity of its own. The figure does not appear as a heroic character, but as part of a natural order, integrated into the rhythm of work, the landscape and animal husbandry. It is precisely this restraint that lends the depiction its power of conviction.

In this respect, Liebermann differs markedly from the more symbolically charged conception of rural labour found, for example, in the work of Jean-François Millet. Whilst Millet’s peasant figures often exude an almost religious dignity, Liebermann remains more sober and observant. His figures are not allegories, but real people in a real setting. The dignity of labour arises not from pathos, but from the precision of the depiction.

It is precisely for this reason that the pastel appears as a self-contained work of remarkable independence. Although it is based on previously developed oil studies, it does not simply repeat them, but interprets the motif through a different medium-specific logic. The pastel allows for a greater lightness of colour application, an immediate response to light and atmosphere, and a more open surface texture. At the same time, the unusually dense application of pigments lends the sheet a painterly coherence that goes far beyond the character of a study.

For me, the particular appeal of this work lies precisely in this combination of apparent simplicity and subtle painterly sophistication. It reveals an artist who does not merely present a subject once, but explores it further through various techniques, guiding each medium towards its own visual solution. The pastel is therefore by no means merely a by-product of oil painting, but an autonomous contribution to Liebermann’s exploration of the theme of rural labour. With its quiet presence, luminous colouring and unusually dense, almost painterly visual impact, it exerts a lasting effect that grants the sheet a status of its own within Liebermann’s oeuvre.

Ferdinand Rudolf

From Realism to Impressionism — The Pastel in the Work of Max Liebermann

For years, Liebermann did not use pastels, for as a young painter he strove to depict nature as truthfully as possible – namely as ‘simple and grey’ – and feared that the lovely, delicately shimmering colours of pastels might tempt him into embellishment. It was not until the second half of the 1880s that he overcame this reluctance, initially for strictly practical reasons, as he wished to market his art.

He lived for a good 16 years in succession in Weimar, Paris and Munich, enjoying considerable success at exhibitions there. However, after settling back in his native city of Berlin in 1884 to marry his cousin Martha Marckwald, he soon realised that the Berlin art world found his painting too rough and his models too ugly, and showed no understanding whatsoever for Liebermann’s realism. Fortunately, the family was willing to support the young couple financially. One day, the Berlin art dealer Hermann Pächter advised Liebermann to reproduce the compositions of his oil paintings in large-format pastels, which he intended to sell at low prices. Through the more accessible medium and the bright colours, the public would grow accustomed to the inelegant motifs and thus develop a basic understanding of his realism. Pächter’s intuition proves correct: he does indeed find buyers, and so, from around 1887, Liebermann paints a series of copies of his oil paintings in pastel.

From the 1890s onwards, however, he also produced new pastel compositions, such as portraits of contemporaries including the naturalist writers Gerhart Hauptmann and Eduard Grisebach. Liebermann had, in the meantime, begun to rally fellow artists around him in the fight against the academic establishment, which had gained a particularly vigorous advocate since Wilhelm’s accession to the throne in 1888. Thus, in 1892, he founded the Association of the XI with ten other young painters so that they could exhibit together. This proved successful, for by the time the somewhat loosely assembled ‘Eleven’ were superseded in 1898 by the more tightly organised Berlin Secession, a large following of modern art enthusiasts had grown up in Berlin. In his role as chairman, Liebermann also strove, among other things, for greater recognition of the drawing arts; every winter he organised a so-called ‘Black and White Exhibition’, at which coloured drawings and small sculptures were also on display.

Around 1900, Liebermann gradually shifted from being a realist to an impressionist, which meant that, instead of relatively static scenes of everyday life, he increasingly depicted summer holidaymakers in rapid motion, such as tennis players or horse-riders, but above all boys splashing about in the water. Whereas he had previously prepared his oil paintings with black-and-white sketches or watercolour and gouache studies, by the sea, in the wind and sometimes even in the rain, pastel proved particularly well suited to capturing fleeting impressions quickly. He was particularly adept at capturing the local colour palette; indeed, the colour scheme of the works alone is almost enough to reveal the country in which they were created.

With the outbreak of war on 1 August 1914, a new situation arose for the painter. For forty years, he had spent weeks, even months, in the Netherlands almost every summer, sketching and painting from life there. Suddenly, he had to seek out new subjects and was forced to focus on his surroundings in Berlin, particularly those of his villa on the Wannsee, where he would henceforth spend the summer months. There, in the seclusion of the garden resplendent in every colour, he developed into a true colourist. Here, too, he liked to use pastel pencils to capture fleeting effects of light and moods with swift strokes. These masterfully drawn and distinctive impressions illustrate how boldly and characteristically Liebermann ultimately made his own a medium that had initially been spurned as too sweet.

Drs. Margreet Nouwen

From Wiesbaden to California – The provenance of the work

The provenance of this pastel is characterised by remarkable continuity and transparency. Over a period of more than a century, the work’s history can be reconstructed almost without a gap – a rarity that is by no means a given in provenance research. At the same time, the succession of its owners impressively reflects the history of the reception of Max Liebermann’s art: from the art trade of the late 19th century, through the bourgeois collecting circles of Berlin, to a collection history with an international flavour.

The earliest confirmed location is the art collection of Hans Weidenbusch, a private scholar from Wiesbaden. In the auction catalogue for the sale of his collection at J. M. Heberle (H. Lempertz’ Söhne) in Cologne in June 1899, the work appears under the title Auf der Weide and is explicitly highlighted there as an ‘excellently executed pastel’. Reports in the Kunstchronik, edited by Ulrich Thieme and Richard Graul, document both the announcement and the results of this auction, thereby attesting to the work’s early presence on the art market. Shortly afterwards, the pastel came into private ownership in Berlin and was included in the Liebermann monograph by Hans Rosenhagen and Hermann Knackfuß, published in 1900, where it is reproduced under the title Mädchen mit Kuh (Girl with a Cow) and erroneously dated 1897.

In the years that followed, the work remained closely linked to the art market and the collectors’ circle. Through the art dealer Eduard Schulte, it entered the Carl Dietrich Collection in Wiesbaden and was auctioned in 1904 at Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus in Berlin. By 1914 at the latest, the pastel was in the Berlin collection of Max Adler, as evidenced by the catalogue raisonné in Erich Hanke’s monograph on Liebermann. These early stages show that the work circulated from the outset within a bourgeois collecting milieu with an interest in art, which collected and appreciated Liebermann’s work from an early stage.

The collection of Bruno Adriani and his wife Sadie Adriani represents a particularly significant and long-standing chapter in the work’s provenance. Adriani was a lawyer, art historian and author, and belonged to that generation of cultured collectors who built up major private art collections in the first half of the 20th century. After studying law, he began his legal clerkship in Hanover in 1903 and later practised as a solicitor in Potsdam. From 1923, he held the rank of Government Councillor at the Berlin Police Headquarters, where he was responsible for matters of theatre censorship; from 1926, he was also a member of the Prussian Higher Review Board for Obscene and Indecent Publications. In 1930, he moved briefly to the Prussian Ministry of Culture, but resigned from the civil service of his own accord in the same year. Contemporary commentators attributed this move not least to the fact that Adriani wished to devote himself more fully to his academic and collecting interests from then on.

In fact, Adriani was deeply rooted in Berlin’s cultural life. As a member of the board of directors of Deutsche Theater GmbH, and through his numerous personal connections with artists, writers and art historians, he was at the heart of the capital’s intellectual milieu. His art collection reflected these wide-ranging interests. Over the course of decades, a collection of international standing was assembled, comprising paintings, sculptures and works on paper, and bringing together works by leading artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

With the political upheavals of the early 1930s, the geographical context of this collection also changed. Bruno and Sadie Adriani left Berlin at the end of 1930 and moved to Geneva. They lived there for several years before emigrating to the United States in 1936. A significant part of their art collection – including the Liebermann pastel – accompanied them on this journey and thus remained in the family’s possession throughout. In 1941, the couple finally settled permanently in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a place that developed into an important cultural hub for artists and intellectuals. During this period, Adriani continued to publish art-historical essays, including some for the Berlin-born gallery owner Karl Nierendorf, who had also emigrated to New York.

The Adriani collection, built up over decades, eventually came to hold institutional significance. In the early 1960s, a significant portion of the collection was donated to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco under the name ‘Bruno & Sadie Adriani Collection’. This collection included works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, among others, which impressively underscores the collection’s high standing. The Liebermann pastel, however, remained within the family and was simultaneously presented on permanent loan at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where it was on public display from the early 1960s until the second half of the 1980s. It was not until between 1985 and 1989 that the work was transferred from the family’s possession by the collectors’ adopted daughter, Rose Marie Chamberlin, in Los Angeles.

Annegret Rudolf



Imprint (Catalogue)

The work by Max Liebermann is available for sale.

We would be happy to arrange a private viewing with you.

Publishers:

Gernot Rudolf, Annegret Rudolf

Catalogue editors:

Annegret Rudolf, Ferdinand Rudolf, Karl Mittenentzwei

Publication date:

March 2026

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