Plückebaum, Carl (1880-1952), The Talisman (so called Dukatenscheisser)

Carl Maria Plückebaum(1880 Düsseldorf - 1952 ibid.), The Talisman (so called Dukatenscheisser), partly colored etching, 11.5 x 8.5 cm (plate size), 26.5 x 20 cm (sheet size), signed by hand below the image on the right "C. Plückebaum" and inscribed by hand at lower left "Der Talismann".

- left and right side of the sheet with browned stripes, otherwise good copy

- The philosopher's stone -

Here, Carl Plückebaum gives free rein to his anti-academic impulses and turns the subtle humor of his pictures into crudeness. Following Adrian Ostade's peasants as they go about their needy business, we see a cowardly fellow in a squatting position. His excrement, however, is not the organic remains of digestion, but - like the golden donkey in the Grimm fairy tale - ducats. However, they appear more brown than golden, which is emphasized by the discreet hand-coloring of the picture. The unattractive accumulation is countered by the blossoms decorating the crouching man's hat. Totally absorbed in his action, his activity is evident in the strained expression on his face, giving Plückebaum a whole new verisimilitude to the concept of naturalism. The title "The Talisman" then turns naturalism back to the miraculous, formulating in a humorous way that these legacies are also a "miracle of nature".

About the artist

Coming from a poor background, Carl Plückebaum, who had a walking disability and was of short stature, initially worked as a church restorer. He also took private drawing lessons. In 1901 he won the first prize of the Düsseldorf Museum of Decorative Arts, which enabled him to finance his studies at the Düsseldorf Academy. There he was a pupil of Eduard von Gebhardt and Peter Janssen the Elder, but began to doubt the academic teaching. In 1906 he took part in a group exhibition at the Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, which violated the academy's statutes and led to his dismissal. However, the extraordinary success with the public confirmed him as an artist and provided him with the financial means for a study trip to Italy. Enchanted by Florence, he retired to the Franciscan monastery of Fisole, where he worked as a fresco painter.

Back in Düsseldorf, he turned increasingly to children's and animal drawings, and in 1907 he was a founding member of the Niederrhein Secessionist Artists' Group. In 1910 he travelled to Italy again, accompanied by his painter friends Walter Ophey and Carl Schmitz-Pleis, visiting Rome and Naples in particular. He then stayed in Munich to study the Old Masters at the Pinakothek. It was in the artistic circles of Schwabing that he met his future wife, the painter Meta Weber. In Düsseldorf, Carl and Meta Plückebaum were prominent representatives of the local art scene and active members of the artists' association Malkasten.