Portrait of Mr. Banker Walter: impressive, finely characterized, realistic.

(1856 Lichtenstein/Sachsen - 1922 Olsberg) "Portrait of Mr. Banker Walter". Original title Representative, subtle characterizing, realistic portrait of a sovereign and self-assured banker sitting in an armchair, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, with his head slightly turned in profile. Beckert studied at the academies in Dresden, Berlin, and Stuttgart, and from 1881 in Munich with Wilhelm von Lindenschmit the Younger, Sándor Wagner, and Gyula Benczúr. Within a few years, Beckert advanced to a sought-after portrait painter of the nobility and personalities from politics and society: in 1889 he painted the Chancellor Otto Fürst von Bismarck and the Prussian General Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke, in 1890/91 the imperial couple Wilhelm II and Victoria Augusta, followed by portraits of Pope Pius X (1904) and the significant Center Party politician and later Chancellor Georg von Hertling (1908). Beckert's works can be found, among others, in the National Gallery and the DHM in Berlin. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1902. Verso original label of the Great Berlin Art Exhibition 1903. 119.5 cm x 93.5 cm. Frame. Cf./Lit.: Catalogue of the Great Berlin Art Exhibition 1903, No. 41.