German school; 19th century.

German school; 19th century.
“At the Tavern.”
Oil on canvas.
Stamped on the reverse.
Measurements: 29 x 37 cm, 41 x 49 cm (frame).
Traditionally, 19th- and 20th-century painting and literature have focused on folk customs and characters. Sorolla himself remarked, “I want to offer, always within the realism of my school, a representation of Spain; not seeking philosophies, but rather the picturesque qualities of each region.” This movement spread throughout Europe, where tourism spurred by the Grand Tour had created a demand for characteristic and picturesque images of each country. Consequently, local painters developed themes of a folk nature, treated from an idyllic perspective in which peasants often took center stage in scenes of an appealing and pleasant nature. For this reason, works of this type were very common—and highly appreciated—in art from the 19th century well into the 20th. It was customary to depict folk motifs through an idyllic vision in which the artist was influenced by a Romantic aesthetic and heritage, a trend that developed during the second half of the 19th century and led to a localist conception of the landscape, in works that reflected a love for the land itself and the beauty and lyricism of everyday life—the familiar and the known.