(Vienna 1853–1918 Munich)
“Einzug” (The Arrival), verso old title and inscription ‘F. Simm München, Vervielfältigung vorbehalten’, signed F. Simm, oil on panel, 48 x 34 cm, vertical cracking, framed

Exhibited:
Große Berliner Kunstausstellung, 1894;
Munich Annual Exhibition, 1894.

Illustrated in:
Die Gartenlaube, Ernst Keil’s Nachfolger, Leipzig 1896, vol. 4, pp. 4–5, no. 20.

Catalogued:
Friedrich von Boetticher, Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts, Hofheim am Taunus 1979, vol. II, 2, p. 753, no. 32 (The Triumphal Entry of Russian and German Troops into a German City, Winter 1813).

In this lot, Franz Xaver Simm takes us back to the Napoleonic era, depicting the victorious return of the German troops as they receive a warm, joyful welcome. The painting was featured in the magazine ‘Gartenlaube’ in 1896 and the accompanying text gives us the impression that the picture made on the public at the time.
‘Here we can see the young mother with her children, the charming sister who has jumped up from her sewing table, still holding her scissors, joyfully welcoming the German regiments as they return. The young son cannot get enough of the splendour of the weapons and all the pomp of the military; he pushes back the curtain with his hand to prevent it from hiding part of this stunning spectacle. Unlike this little patriot, who already bears the hallmarks of a future soldier, and his counterpart, namely his inquisitive older sister, the little girl remains in her mother’s arms; she holds a handkerchief which has been entrusted to her so she can wave to the brave warriors, but her heart is elsewhere, and she is not yet old enough for the shiny buttons and epaulettes to impress her as they usually would; she looks back into the room as if she were seeking recognition from her sister for the skill with which she is waving her victory flag. This group is brightly lit, but a French officer, apparently a wounded prisoner, hides shrouded in darkness, as such soldiers were often accommodated in private apartments when military hospitals were overcrowded. His arm is bandaged, and he listens to the victory march outside in pain and silent surrender.’ (Die Gartenlaube, Ernst Keil’s Nachfolger, Leipzig 1896, vol. 4, pp. 4-5, no. 20)