Willem Leendert Bruckman (1866-1928) - Aktstudie Eines Mädchens am See.. Circa 1890 - 1900 - Nude Study Female Child at the Lake

For years I have been looking for a well executed juvenile female nude by a well listed 19th Century trained artist (to balance out the more typical subject matter of the juvenile male). Several weeks ago I finally found what has to be a rare bird indeed in the collecting world. Willem Leendert Bruckman (1866-1928) (Variation Willem Leonardus Bruckman), Painter, architect, and illustrator was born Willem Leendert Bruckman in The Hague, Holland. He attended the Academie of Fine Arts in his native city. He studied Both architecture and painting. This little painting (6.5 by 9.5 inches) is well executed on cut down artist canvas board and shows how well Bruckman had command of his observational skills and the art medium, oils. His work appears in several European Museums. Apparently he spent some time in England painting the countryside because many of his paintings reside in English Museums and are of English landscapes and architectural subjects. Unfortunately, I could find only the barest of biographical information on the artist. The seller listed the painting as “attributed" but there is enough circumstantial evidence on the reverse of the canvas board to substantiate a positive attribution … i.e. signature comparison and origination of the canvas board from a contemporary London maker.  This is shear speculation on my part, but there is a possible partial title with the little girl's name and the artist's name below that, in German, on the handwritten note attached to the back of the frame (Top line) ..... Trudie?  Sounds about right.... she looks like a Trudie to me. Enjoy.

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Authentic Signature (above)

(Source: Portrait of Ethel Clack)

Signature as it appears on the reverse of the Canvas board. (above)

London Manufacturer's George R. Rowney & Co. stamp on reverse of the canvas board in Imperial measurements 14 by 10 inches (above). (Source: The British Museum, London)

       

Handwritten note on the reverse attached to the frame (above)

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Here are a few examples of his works:

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"A Dutch Canal"

Portrait of the artist's wife,Viola Bruckman, watercolor, signed lower left

(above)

  Figures beneath an Archway - watercolor

Portrait of Ethel Clack (above)

De Roman [The Novel], c. 1925. Oil on canvas laid down on board

Oxford Church - 1926 (above)

"The Backyard"