A wonderful genre painting of a group of men in 17th century costume seated at a table by Fritz Wagner. Four of the men converse and drink wine whilst another stands behind lighting a clay pipe. A model ship can be seen suspended from a beam above the table and could well have been a prop owned by Wagner as it features in a number of similarly themed scenes painted by him. The ship was a symbol of the Hanseatic League, a commercial confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe that began in Germany during the 13th century. By the early 1700’s it had begun to break up.

Fritz Wagner was a German painter of genre, landscapes and still life who was born in Munich in 1896. He was the son of the genre painter Josef Wagner-Höhenberg (1870-1939) who initially taught him art and greatly influenced his work. He later attended art school in Munich under Adolf Schinnerer (1876-1949). As well as working in his home City, Wagner also travelled throughout Europe to paint. Whilst in Italy he studied at the Acadamie de la Brera de Milan. During the late 1950’s and towards the end of his life he lived at 9 Enzianstrasse in the Grünwald area of Munich.

He followed in the footsteps of artists such as Meissonier and Lesrel who painted genre subjects with a military or historical theme. Wagner developed his own style with his subjects set in a more informal and relaxed atmosphere, and deliberately chose period costumes which enhanced their decorative value. He also gave each figure a different character allowing the viewer to be drawn into the enfolding visual dialogue.

Wagner also paid particular attention to his interiors, often including lots of clutter to give added interest and using windows to add depth to his scenes. Although he uses a soft palette, his skilled draughtsmanship ensures his figures are always well painted and natural, a talent which has made his paintings enduringly popular and highly collectable.