Old man holding beer mug
unsigned portrait of an older bald obese man holding a beer mug wearing burgundy clothing, man is standing next to table, possibly from late 1800s or early 1900s, bought in Europe. 28cm x 38cm. Appears to be an oil painting. Label on back of frame is from framing store in Guadalajara Mexico, it is illegible except for word Guadalajara, no dates or any other data.
Family owned since early 1900s, obtained during a family trip to Europe, brought by boat to America.
Inherited
Yes
This is an original antique framed oil on canvas Continental painting. It is a depiction of a popular theme in late 19th through early to mid 20th century paintings, A Monk with Beer. These were usually painted by German and/or Italian artists. Yours is quite similar in style of the monks drinking genre paintings by German painter Eduard von Grützner (1846-1925). The person depicted in the painting is Sir John Falstaff, a fictional character derived from Shakespeare plays. Grutzner often portrayed Falstaff in his Monk Drinking paintings. Falstaff is usually painted wearing a hat, in this work, the hat is next to him on the table. The estimate (in USD) is based on actual past auction sales of works by Eduard von Grützner and presumes this is a work attributed to him. In addition, Grutzner paintings with Falstaff tend to carry auction estimates of $4000 - $6000, however the actual auction sale hammer price has been increasingly higher than the high estimate and is reflected in the valuation above.
