"Lioness with cubs: original art"

(1884 Neustadt a. d. Hardt - 1957 Bad Dürkheim) "Lioness with Cubs". Original title. Depicted in a strong close-up, a resting lioness with three cubs in the zoo (Tierpark Hellabrunn) in Munich. Created in 1925, the painting belongs to Dill's best period, both due to its subject matter and its impressionistic style characterized by quick, broad brushstrokes and thickly applied paint. From 1908 to 1914, Dill studied at the Munich Academy, and from 1909 to 1913, he was a master student of animal painter Heinrich von Zügel, who introduced him to an interest in animals and impressionism. Since childhood, Dill has been particularly fascinated by big cats, especially lions, unlike Zügel, who primarily painted sheep and cattle. Therefore, Dill devoted himself to lions and tigers as his main motifs. Already in the summer of 1917, Dill was represented with a first extensive collection of oil paintings and drawings at the exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace, which mainly showed lion and horse motifs. As a member of the Munich Secession, he participated in various exhibitions from 1922 to 1930. In 1923, a longer article about Dill and his lion and horse paintings was published in the respected art magazine "Die Kunst für alle" (pp. 259-265) by Munich art historian Dr. Willy Burger, in which he states: "His favorite animal, which best corresponds to his intentions, is the predator from the first class of the big cats, lions and tigers. One can observe in them the constant state of being on the alert even in their rest, the tense readiness of every nerve and muscle in the struggle for existence. The powerful stride of the lioness (...) finds an eloquent and characteristic interpretation in Dill's paintings." This is how the artist became known under the nickname "Lion Dill". In 1924, Dill received the title of professor, and in 1930, the artist moved from Munich to Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and in 1941, he moved to Bad Dürkheim. Alongside Max Slevogt, Otto Dill is now considered one of the most important artists of classical modernism from the Palatinate region. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1925. Inscribed and titled by the artist on an original label on the reverse. 50.5 cm x 60.5 cm. Framed. Provenance: German private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate.