Tegernsee, autumn 1909. August Macke settles with his young wife Elisabeth in this Bavarian village. He picks up a brush, turns his gaze toward her, and paints.
A Luminous Presence
Elisabeth stands facing us, almost symmetrical. Her eyes are cast downward. She holds a white plate laden with red and yellow apples. A dark brown background envelops her. A yellow curtain, knotted, falls to the right. Her matt white shawl softly catches the frontal light. Macke works in broad, flat areas of colour with fluid contours. Each brushstroke is laid down with calm. The deep green dress contrasts with the paleness of the fabric.
In the Wake of Cézanne
This portrait was born of a decisive encounter. In Paris, Carl Hofer introduced Macke to the late work of Paul Cézanne. The plate of apples is a direct echo: a Cézannian motif, treated as a still life nestled within a portrait. Macke was developing his own vision: colour, form, figure, and environment must fuse into a harmonious whole. He would articulate this idea of “overall harmony” himself in 1910. Elisabeth would remain his preferred model throughout the Tegernsee period.
August Macke
August Macke (1887–1914) is a central figure of German Expressionism and the Blue Rider movement, alongside Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Trained in Düsseldorf and shaped by his stays in Paris, he absorbed the lessons of Cézanne, Matisse, and the Fauves with remarkable speed. His painting combines chromatic vibrancy with the quiet warmth of everyday life. Killed at the age of 27 on the Marne front in September 1914, he left behind a blazing body of work spanning barely ten years.
Think about it
💭 Before this woman with her inward gaze, what do you feel — the peace of a suspended moment, or the quiet gravity of a life just beginning?
About this work
- Portrait with Apples
- August Macke
- 1909
- Oil on canvas
- 66 × 59.5 cm
- Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, Bernhard und Elly Koehler Stiftung 1965
- https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/digital/collection-online/detail/portraet-mit-aepfeln-30019623
