Adolf Frey-Moock

Adolf Frey-Moock (Jona 1881-1954 Steinebrunn, Egnach) Panoramic View of Lake Bled with the Island of Blejski otok, signed and dated A. Frey 1917, oil on canvas, 71 x 160 cm, unframed, (Rei) Adolf Frey-Moock received his education at the Munich Academy studying under Wilhelm Diez. He later worked as an assistant to Franz von Stuck in his studio. In terms of technique, Frey-Moock’’’’s works are similar in style to those of Franz von Stuck and Arnold Böcklin.

Auktion W229 Lot 6760 - 22 June 2011 15:30 * FREY-MOOCK, ADOLF (1882 Munich 1954) Clio, muse of history, with warrior. Oil on panel. 60 x 50 cm. CHF 1 500.- / 2 000.- € 1 150.- / 1 540.- * FREY-MOOCK, ADOLF (1882 München 1954) Clio, Muse der Geschichtsschreibung, mit Krieger. Öl auf Holz. 60 x 50 cm. CHF 1 500.- / 2 000.- € 1 150.- / 1 540.-

Pre-lot TextTHE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED EUROPEAN COLLECTOR Lot Description Adolf Frey-Moock (German, 1882-1954) Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist signed 'A. FREY MOOCK' (lower right) oil on board 26½ x 18 in. (66 x 45.7 cm.) Painted circa 1910. Lot Notes Adolf Frey-Moock was one of the most loyal followers of Franz von Stuck, yet never had the opportunity to serve as one of the master's pupils. Born in 1881 in Jona, Switzerland Frey-Moock was apprenticed to a fresco painter who decorated churches. After several months as a touring artisan, during which time he helped to decorate Schoene Brunnen in Nuremburg, he entered the Academy in Munich where he studied with Wilhelm Diez. In 1909, Frey-Moock became a studio assistant to the recently ennobled von Stuck and the influence of the older master is immediately evident in the work of the assistant. The theme of Salome was one that pervaded the Symbolist movement from the beginning, in both the art and the literature of the era. In 1904, Oscar Wilde's play was produced in Munich, followed shortly thereafter by Richard Strauss' opera. In 1906, von Stuck painted three versions of the Biblical temptress, each showing her dancing. The rigidly vertical Salome in Frey-Moock's composition is much closer to von Stuck's interpretation of Sin (Die Zonde), 1893, Katharina Büttiker Collection, Zurich. Both Salome and the personification of Sin are half-draped figures: Salome with her veil and Sin with the Snake representing the Devil. In both compositions, there is a sharp contrast between the pale luminosity of female flesh and the dark, sinister background. Frey-Moock also borrowed the radiant head of John the Baptist from von Stuck who in turn had borrowed it from one of the most famous artists of the Symbolist movement, Gustave Moreau. It is not unusual that the younger artist would have been so taken with von Stuck's imagery, for Sin was displayed in an altarpiece in the very studio where Frey-Moock assisted the older master.