Bidspirit auction | Carl Martin Ebersberg (1818, Biberach

Carl Martin Ebersberg (1818, Biberach - 1880, Graz) - The Innocents from 1834 - Carl Martin Ebersberg (1818, Biberach - 1880, Graz) - The Innocents from 1834 Oil on canvas. It depicts a lively, richly detailed Biedermeier genre scene with a captivating criminal backstory. At the centre is a group of travellers or day labourers who have settled outdoors in front of a farmstead, resting by a campfire. The small painting is notable for a highly rare, contemporary handwritten note on the reverse in cursive script. This not only identifies the presumed artist ‘v. Ebersperg’ but also provides a precise historical context: ‘painted by v. Ebersperg / These people were detained here following a murder committed in June 1834 near the farmhouse, but were released again because they were innocent.’ In good condition for its age, with characteristic craquelure; some flaking of paint in the margins. The artist ‘v. Ebersperg’ is most likely Carl Martin Edler von Ebersberg. He was a pupil of Johann Baptist Pflug, after which he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich under Carl Theodor von Piloty from 15 March 1836. This work was probably created around 1840. Framed in modern times. Image dimensions 23.5 x 19 cm. Provenance: From a South German estate, Bad Saulgau.