Wilhelm Friedrich Giessel, Checkmate

Wilhelm Friedrich Giessel, CheckmateThis charming oil painting by Austrian artist Wilhelm Friedrich Giessel (1795 1858) depicts a courting couple in the 17th century. The scene is lit by a single candle as a lady leans towards a seated gentleman. Theyve concluded a chess match and shes victorious. The king is trapped cornered and unable to move. This clever little piece uses chess as an analogy for courtship. Shes moving towards her partner, echoing the story on the chessboard. Hes

A fine late-19th-century landscape painting by British painter

Dated on the reverse

and is known to have exhibited at the illustrious Paris salon in 1864

Vedel had such a gift for capturing unusually tense atmospheres

confident mark

Studies such as this are often more fascinating than finished works as they provide insight into the artist’s process and approach

Perhaps it was a commission for a local family or alternatively inspired by prevalent thoughts of his own

The Danes have a strong heritage of capturing an evocative atmosphere and Panitzsch would’ve enjoyed the inspiration

Perhaps it’s a symbol of fertility and new life

Could it be his daughter

He was trained by the well-known landscape painter

creating an unusual mood