Jeune fille de Metzeral

Jeune fille de Metzeral Charles Spindler Very rare original watercolor, late 19th century. Enhanced with ink. Original preparatory watercolor used for the illustration of the plate "Jeune fille de Metzeral" published in Costumes et coutumes d'Alsace, by Anselme Laugel, Strasbourg, Imprimerie alsacienne, 1902. This watercolor belongs to the remarkable set of studies executed by Charles Spindler at the end of the 19th century for the illustration of Costumes et coutumes d'Alsace. Created from life during campaigns led with Anselme Laugel through Alsatian villages, these sheets constitute the matrix for the plates reproduced in the 1902 First Edition. Spindler captures the specificities of local costumes with documentary precision. The figure represented, a young peasant girl from Metzeral holding a rake, is treated in isolation against a neutral background, according to the method adopted by the artist for all the studies intended for engraving. A significant portion of these preparatory studies was kept by Charles Spindler and then donated to the Musée alsacien de Strasbourg in the early years of the 20th century. Sheets remaining in private hands are significantly rarer. Particularly interesting provenance: Fritz Kieffer (1854-1933), director of the Imprimerie alsacienne in Strasbourg, publisher, writer, and close associate of Charles Spindler as well as the Kunschthafe artistic circle. Combining artistic quality, documentary interest, and first-rate provenance, this watercolor constitutes a testament to the genesis of one of the most important works devoted to traditional Alsatian costumes at the beginning of the 20th century. Sheet dimensions: 30.8 x 18.1 cm Subject dimensions: 28.2 x 17.7 cm On Bristol paper. The pencil drawing frame is partially preserved. The work is signed in black ink, C. Spindler, in the lower right corner. We note some sunning along the border of an old frame, which does not affect the work itself.