The Walter Bauer Collection

The drawing, which dates from Tischbein's time in Naples, combines two elements typical of his work: the study of antiquity and the study of animals, with a particular delight in the parallel physiognomic representation of animals and humans. The mother, turned to the left in a strict profile, is based on the immensely popular wall fresco ‘Who buys gods of love?’, discovered during the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum and quickly spread throughout Europe through engravings and copies. Now, instead of a cupid dealer, a young mother is depicted, turning with the father to their own children, who resemble cherubs. The signature ‘Guillaume Tischbein’ is in his own hand, and the French form of his first name may be a playful pun for the recipient of the work. A very similar motif, also in profile, but now turned to the right, can be found on a supraporte (grisaille) in Oldenburg Castle, painted in the early 1820s. It is part of a suite of six supraportes framing the large historical painting ‘Des Mannes Stärke’ (The Strength of Man), dated 1821. Tischbein summed up the philosophical message to the duke who commissioned the work: ‘Thus, when a person enters life, he is immediately in need of help.’ Motherly and parental love play a significant role in Tischbein's work. There is also a pictorial drawing of the supraporte in the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. Hermann Mildenberger