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This view from Menzel’s studio window of the courtyard of his house at Marienstraße 22 in Berlin has become well-known through several celebrated variations on the same vista (Fig. 1). In 1860, the artist had moved into new quarters here, along with the young family of his sister Emilie Krigar-Menzel and her husband Hermann. Their children Margarethe and Otto would grow up in this shared home and prompt their uncle to many spontaneous studies (cf. cat. no. 4).
This unusual watercolour is a striking departure from other, more narrative views by Menzel. There is no preparatory drawing, resulting in the dominance of spontaneous brushwork, and the flickering play of colour values inflects this moment of private contemplation of nature.