Ernst Nepo *

(Dauba, Böhmen 1895–1971 Innsbruck)
Großes Stillleben mit Gladiolen und Holzwürfel mit Ausblick auf die Tiroler Bergwelt (Large sill life with gladioli and wooden cube), signed and dated E. Nepo 1950, oil on board, 120 x 170 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Tyrol
Sale, Dorotheum, Salzburg, March 10, 2010, lot 1
Private Collection, Vienna


The flower still lifes by Ernst Nepo can be interpreted not only through their painterly style development but also autobiographically. During and shortly after the war, flowers are staged with vanitas motifs, masks, or books against a dark background. With the gradually improving economic situation around 1950, the arrangements of brightly colored flowers become dominant, the dark curtain as a backdrop recedes to allow for a (hopeful) view through the window into a vast landscape.

Paintings of this scale are rare in Nepo’s œuvre. It is possible that the offered lot was created during his artistically and economically inspiring stay at the Feldererhof near Meran in 1950.