Lion Tamer

(1884 Neustadt an der Haardt - 1957 Bad Dürkheim) "In the Circus" / "Lion Tamer". Original title: Scene from the Circus Krone in Munich. This major work, painted in 1928, is characterized by a powerful and rapid brushstroke and belongs to the best creative period of late Impressionism. It was strongly influenced by the animal painter Heinrich von Zügel, who was a student of Dill at the Munich Academy from 1909 to 1913. As early as the summer of 1917, Dill exhibited a first extensive collection of 10 oil paintings and 15 drawings at an exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace. From then on, equestrian and horse motifs, as well as lions and other big cats, became the main themes of his work, earning him the nicknames "Horse Dill" or "Lion Dill". As a member of the Munich Secession, he participated in various exhibitions of the artists' association from 1922 to 1930. In 1924, he was awarded the title of professor. In 1930, the artist moved from Munich to Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and in 1941 he moved to Bad Dürkheim, where he lived and worked until his death in 1957. Alongside Max Slevogt, Otto Dill is now considered one of the most important artists of Classical Modernism in the Palatinate. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1928. On the reverse is a signature, title, and the note "In the Circus, Professor Otto Dill, Munich"; original label with the artist's name and address in Munich. 70 cm x 100 cm. Framed. Provenance: German private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate.