Angelicus J. Maria Beckert (1889-1962) - Das Konigskind

“Das Konigskind” (The Princess). Pre-Raphaelite / Symbolist style oil painting by Angelicus Beckert on wood panel w/ original custom gilt frame. Signed and dated 1919 by Beckert in lower left corner with an unknown heraldic crest. Painting has obscured undertype script in the lower black border to the right of the signature. This appears to be an early change by the artist, as the painting is in the same state as pictured in Beckert’s 1931 catalog raisonne’ [see Schaumann, Ruth (1931). "Ein Maler der deutschen Innigkeit: 42 Bilder von Angelicus Jos. Maria Beckert und Die Legende von dem Maler." Kirnach-Villingen: Verlag Schulbruder]. Dimensions (w/ frame): 23.5”(W) x 28”(H).

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From Beckert’s 1931 biographical sketch in "Ein Maler der deutschen Innigkeit":

“Born December 19, 1889 in Berlin. Not really a Berliner or Prussian, however, since his ancestors come from many German regions, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Alsace, to name the farthest out in each direction, their status ranging from lower middle class to the nobility. His father was the painter Paul Beckert, known for his portraits of distinguished people. The young Beckert was still only a child when his father gave him woodcuts by Ludwig Richter, and as he matured his father acquainted him with the medieval art of Germany and Italy. At the age of twelve, art made a strong impression on him for the first time when he saw the German Renaissance paintings of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, whose treasures his father enthusiastically introduced him to. These paintings made the boy wish he could someday create something similar, and inspired him to become a painter. Wilhelm Steinhaufen and Matthäus Schiestl had great influence on his training. He is particularly grateful to Schiestl, who taught him the physical aspects of painting. Maximilian Dasio was an inspiring teacher to him at the School of Arts and Crafts in Munich. When he was sixteen, at Dasio's suggestion, he began to paint a sequence of pictures. The subject he chose was Hartmann v. d. Aue's “Poor Heinrich,” and he has just completed this sequence with his most recent painting at the age of forty. At the Munich Academy he was a student of Karl von Marr, who generously advanced his education and let him develop freely in the direction he had chosen. As a young child he was strongly moved by nature for the first time in the forests of the Riesen Mountains, around the peaks of which a storm was raging, and a little later, as a young teenager, on the wide plains of Mecklenburg under the rays of the full moon. The semi-darkness of Gothic churches, especially the Frauenkirche in Munich, inspired and impressed him nearer to home. He could hardly live without music. He deeply loves Bach, and then Beethoven. From the age of ten on he has resided primarily in southern Germany. He now lives and works in Munich.”

Beckert died in 1962. He is listed in Artprice International and Artnet with recent sale records from 2001-2005; the majority of which are oils on either panel or paper. “Das Konigskind” appears to be one of the earliest of his works to come to auction.