Schwartzbach

This is one of Shearer’s most meticulously painted compositions of a woodland interior, painted partially in Munich, when the artist was in his mid-twenties. According to a 1908 catalog which featured some of Shearer’s landscapes, the painting shows: “an open space in the shadowy woods, through which the far-away blue sky is seen…painted with marvelous truthfulness and a wonderfully pleasing effect; while the frame work of green foliage seems moving and rustling in the whispering breeze, so true to nature has it been painted.”

Indeed, the artist brings a precision to his rendering of botanical specimens, especially in the foreground. The presence of a butterfly alighting on a wild flower reflects Shearer’s keen interest in natural history. The artist had a large collection of butterflies and moths—reportedly 35,000 specimens—which, unfortunately, have not survived.