The Raftsund is the waterway between Lofoten and Vesterålen, two island groups in northern Norway. The author of this painting is German landscape and marine painter of late romanticism Karl Paul Themistocles of Eckenbrecher (1842 in Athens - 1921 in Goslar). The artist was born in 1842 in Athens, where His parents settled. Even the father was a world man, very interested in Oriental and ancient culture, in Greek history and art and friends with Heinrich Schliemann, whom he should have given decisive clues in the search for Troy. In 1843 the family returned to Berlin temporarily. There, the young Themistocles attended the English-American school. When he accompanied his father on his travels, he was educated by private tutors. Since that time he has been fascinated by sailing ships, which should later become a recurring motif in his works. From 1850 to 1857 the family lived in Constantinople. She then moved to Potsdam, where she lived until 1861. In 1875 he married the Mecklenburg landowner´s daughter Johanna Stever, named Jane.

As the son submitted his parents a desire to become a marine and landscape painter, they promoted him. At that time, the father conducted a practice in Potsdam; 1859/60 He sent Themistocles as a pupil to the local Court painter Carl Gustav Wegener. From 1861 to 1867, the family lived in Düsseldorf, where the son from 1861 to 1863 became a private student with Oswald Achenbach and soon became one of his favourite students. He follows his teacher in the brilliance of colour, in the light effects and the glamorous sceneries of the composition of his paintings, but without reaching the allure of his scenery. In Düsseldorf, corner Breaker was a member of the Artists ´ Association Paintbox. [1] The painter travelled all over Europe, especially Norway and the Middle East, and always brought home new motifs. After a trip in the winter of 1881 to Egypt by corner Breaker and his colleague Wilhelm Simmler in 1882 the Orient Panorama "entry of the Mekkakarawane in Cairo" (118 × 15 meters) for the city of Hamburg. [2] In 1892 he made a trip to the colonies and travelled among other things to Africa and the Philippines. In addition to Latin and Greek, corner Crushers spoke nine languages. In 1889, corner Crushers settled in Berlin. There he kept close contact with Jane von Arnim (born of Walsleben). In 1919, two years before his death, he moved to Goslar, where he found his last rest in the old cemetery.He also produced templates for postcards, which were distributed by shipping companies and the German colonial house.

Literature: "General Artist´s Lexicon" by Thieme/Becker, Leipzig, 1999; Boetticher, 1891; Dressler , 1930; on-line Wikipedia.

Inscription: signed and dated 1920 lower left, on the back of canvas- artist‘s title inscription "Raftsund".

Technique: oil on canvas, original period gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed w 25 2/3" x 39 3/4" (65 x 101 cm); framed 33" x 47 1/4 " (84 x 120 cm)

Condition: in very good condition.