Fin de Siècle by Ruckteschell, Walter Alexander Moritz Mother with Child (breastfeeding). 1915. Mixed media with watercolour, gouache and pencil on brown vellum. 39.6 x 20.9 cm. Monogrammed and dated. Mounted in the upper corners within the passe-partout. – Lower left corner slightly creased. Minimal pinholes at the top and bottom (beneath the passe-partout). Small tear at the top centre. Overall in very good condition. A magnificent, evocative depiction of great intimacy. The work depicts an intimate, almost understated scene of mother and child, and thus follows in the tradition of sensitively observed, domestic motifs. It is precisely this sense of privacy, however, that stands in tension with the biography of the artist Walter Ruckteschell, who was active in the context of German colonialism and whose work must be contextualised accordingly in today’s discourse. Ruckteschell travelled to German East Africa (now Tanzania) in the spring of 1914, initially for study purposes. With the outbreak of the First World War, a return to Europe was no longer possible, and he joined the Imperial Protectorate Force. Despite this historical context, the depiction is characterised by a remarkable immediacy and empathy. The scene avoids any superficial exoticisation and, precisely through its calm, focused visual language, acquires a timeless, deeply moving human quality. Mixed media with watercolour, gouache and pencil on brown wove paper. Monogrammed and dated. Mounted in a passe-partout at the upper corners. – Lower left corner slightly creased. Small pinholes at the top and bottom (beneath the passe-partout). Small tear at the top centre. Overall in very good condition. A splendid, evocative depiction of great intimacy. – The work depicts an intimate, almost restrained scene of a mother and child, continuing a tradition of sensitively observed, domestic subject matter. This sense of privacy, however, stands in contrast to the biography of the artist Walter Ruckteschell, who was active within the context of German colonialism and whose work must therefore be contextualised within today’s critical discourse. Ruckteschell travelled to German East Africa (present-day Tanzania) in the spring of 1914, initially for study purposes. With the outbreak of the First World War, a return to Europe was no longer possible, and he joined the Imperial Schutztruppe. Despite this historical context, the depiction is characterised by a remarkable immediacy and sense of empathy. The scene avoids any overt exoticisation and, through its calm and focused pictorial language, acquires a timeless and deeply moving human quality.