Focus on this artwork and discuss the Background and history.
Since 1913, Egon Tschirch had been working on the topic of the Song of Solomon, with interruptions due to the ongoing World War I. On April 1, 1923 (Easter Sunday), his exhibit including these paintings opened in the city museum of Rostock. It was met with critical acclaim, and thus in 1924, the state museum in Schwerin also showed this cycle of paintings.Afterwards, the works were transferred to private ownership of a decorative painter in Rostock, who was a friend of Tschirch's. Following this man's death in 1928, the paintings were transferred to his heirs, then left in a basement in Berlin, not far from the Kurfürstendamm, and forgotten. The works were rescued by chance when they were discarded in 2008 and rediscovered in 2015. Using newspaper reviews from the 1920s, the theme of the works was recognized as belonging to the Song of Solomon cycle. The find encompassed a total of 32 original works, including all 19 numbered sheets as well as 13 studies.In 2017, for the first time in 93 years, all paintings in this cycle were placed on permanent public display in the Ahrenshoop Art Museum.
World War I Solomon Schwerin Egon Tschirch Berlin city museum state museum Ahrenshoop Kurfürstendamm Rostock