FRANZ PFORR ( b. Frankfurt, Germany 1788; d. 1812 Albano, Italy)
German painter and draughtsman; founded with Friedrich Overbeck the St. Luke Brotherhood ( called the Nazarenes); based in Rome from 1810 until his death.

Figures in a Crowd, circa 1808-1812
9 x 5 ½ in./ 23 x 14 cm.
Ink over Pencil on paper
No signature or inscriptions
Good condition

Provenance:
Private Collection, Germany (as Peter von Cornelius), until 1999.

Consulting Scholars: Dr. Colin Bailey(Edinburg), Dr. Jens Christian Jensen(Hamburg). The Pforr authorship was first suggested by Fred R. Kline.

Note: Both Bailey and Jensen agree to Pforr, with no alternative suggestions. Bailey sees a stylistic similarity with Pforr's 1811 drawing Adelheid and Weislingen (Frankfurt). Bailey further suggests that the scene might depict Martin Luther and that the drawing could be from a project unfinished at Pforr's early death. Jensen suggests, and Fred Kline agrees, that it may be a sketch for the various crowds in Pforr's painting The Entrance of Emperor Rudolph in Basel; Bailey, however, disagrees. Jensen suggests a technical (ink over faint pencil) relationship to Pforr's drawings for Schiller's William Tell in the Meadow at Altorf. No drawings or paintings by Pforr appear to be in public collections in the United States.

Fred R. Kline

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