Otto Kirchner – Gentleman Writing in a Library

Otto Kirchner

(Eckartshausen 1887 – Munich 1960)

Otto Kirchner was a German portrait and genre painter who studied at a private drawing school in Düsseldorf before travelling in Italy and Switzerland. He later attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he studied under the painter Martin Feuerstein. After initially concentrating on religious subjects, Kirchner turned primarily to intimate genre scenes and character portraits from around 1918 onwards. His work was exhibited at the Munich Glaspalast, and today his paintings regularly appear at European art auctions.

This charming cabinet-sized painting depicts an elderly gentleman seated in his library, writing a letter by the warm glow of an oil lamp. Dressed in a vivid red jacket over an embroidered waistcoat, he smiles gently as he pauses over his correspondence. Shelves of well-used books form the background, while the writing desk is scattered with open volumes, loose papers and an ink bottle, creating an atmosphere of quiet scholarship and domestic comfort.

Kirchner became particularly known for these small-scale portrayals of scholars, readers, wine drinkers, monks, farmers and other characterful figures absorbed in everyday pursuits. This work is a fine example of this appealing aspect of his oeuvre, combining careful observation with warm, sympathetic humour.

The painting is signed Otto Kirchner, Muenchen (Munich), in the upper right hand corner.

Oil painting on hardboard: 23 x 17 cm
Dimensions in frame: 38 x 45 cm