Germany, Third Reich. A Copy of Abgelöst, by D. Graff, after Herbert Schnürpel

(Ölbind). A superb copy of “Abgelöst” (“Relieved” or “Replaced”), presented in oil on board, featuring a somber depiction of a group of Heer soldiers, some wearing Stahlhelme while others display bloody dressings from battlefield wounds, as they depart from a smoke- or fog-ridden battlefield, their neutral expressions betraying a conditioned indifference to the horrors of the battlefield as they appear to advance on the viewer, the lower right corner bearing a hand-painted dedication of “COP. NACH H. SCHNÜRPEL” indicating a copy of the original work by Herbert Schnürpel by an artist who has signed beneath as “D. GRAFF”, situated within a period lacquered wooden frame, the reverse of which retains a canvas backer with a framer’s label reading “TH. DRÖSER, BINGEN A. RH.”, topped by a magnetic metal suspension ring, measuring 80 cm (w) x 50 cm (h), multiple chips are visible to the lacquer of the frame exposing the wooden core, while the image remains fully-intact, a striking copy of an emotive image of the First World War in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: Herbert Schnürpel (1890-1943) was a painter particularly known for military- and war-related art, and particularly active in the 1930s and early 1940s. Several of his pieces were exhibited at the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Great German Art Exhibition) in Munich, including "Abgelöst". With his focus on militarism and patriotism in art, Schnürpel was appropriately a favourite of the National Socialist regime.