One of Paul Wunderlich’s masterpieces, “After Fontainebleau” was just acquired and will be part of a private collection in Indian Wells. Our collector, who wants to remain anonymous, is very excited to have this stunning piece for his collection. It was only recently reported by the studio of Paul Wunderlich, who is now 82 years old, that he will no longer be able to create his incredibly fine paintings on canvas. While he is still painting on paper and working on lithographs and sculptures, we are sad to know that he won’t be creating any more paintings on canvas. His recent artistic development, which took him to a more impulsive style and stronger more texturous colors, requires a different surface. Even though Wunderlich’s body of work is vast if you include all Fine Prints, limited edition sculptures, jewelry, works on paper and paintings, the works on canvas are the rarest and most desired part of his work. Within the category of paintings there are several important periods in Wunderlich’s work which produced different levels of importance and quality. One of the strongest most fertile periods was the late 80s and early 90s. Some of his best paintings were created at that time. We were very fortunate to have paintings from this period, most of which have already been sold into prestigious collections.. “After Fontainebleau” is certainly one of the most precious, because of its amazing imagery in a very compact size.
Paul Wunderlich was influenced by art history throughout his career and the paintings inspired by the School of Fontainebleau are among the most desirable and most coveted because of the exquisite aesthetics of the imagery and the unusual motifs.
The School of Fontainebleau was named after the famous Chateau de Fontainebleau, a castle located 40 miles south of Paris. It was here, where Italian and French artists came together in the 16th century to create a style that would become famous in art history. The works of the “School of Fontainebleau” are characterized by an elaborate and often mysterious system of allegories and mythological iconography, which intrigued Wunderlich. The philosophy of Fontainebleau was very close to the ideas of Magical Realism, the school to which Paul Wunderlich belonged. Renaissance decorative motifs such as grotesques, baroque strap work and putti are common, as well as a certain degree of eroticism, were part of the imagery and became an inspiration for Wunderlich. The figures are elegant and show the influence of the techniques of the Italian Mannerism of Michelangelo and Raphael. This woman wearing a black tiara” is a perfect example of this style with the typical mannerist position of the hand, a trademark of Fontainebleau.
“After Fontainebleau” will be on display for one more week, before it will be delivered, in case you want to catch a glimpse at one of Wunderlich’s finest works.
Click here to see Paul Wunderlich’s biography
Click here to see available works by Paul Wunderlich
