Benjamin Zobel (1762-1830) - Havre de Grace

Benjamin Zobel (1762, Memmingen, Swabia, 1830, London), The prominent depicted work is “GATE IN HAVRE DE GRACE,” oil on canvas. An elaborated architectural veduta showing a monumental city gate leading to the former Havre de Grace, today Le Havre, shown together with a bridge, city buildings, figures, and a broad landscape in the background. Havre de Grace was considered an ideal city. On the back of the canvas there is a handwritten German inscription “Ein Thor von Havre de Grace,” meaning “Gate in Havre de Grace,” while at the lower part of the composition a signature “B. Zobel” is visible. Benjamin Zobel was born on September 21, 1762, in Memmingen, Swabia, and died on October 24, 1830, in London. He was an artist of German origin who, after a stay in Amsterdam, settled in England and linked his activity to the royal court. Sources document his employment by Louis Weltje, the chef to the prince regent, and work as a decorator of tables at Windsor Castle. Other sources describe him directly as a decorator at the court of King George III, and among the patrons of his work are George III and the Duke of York. Benjamin Zobel became famous primarily as one of the pioneers and popularizers in England of the extraordinary marmotinto technique, based on composing pictures from colored sand, marble dust, and other fine materials fixed to a support. This technique grew out of his experience in creating ephemeral table decorations with colored sugars, sand, and marble dust for the English court. The vast majority of Zobel’s works that appear in literature and the antique trade are associated with sand painting; his oil paintings are decidedly rare on the antique market. Their existence is nevertheless documented; for example, Christie’s notes a signed “B. Zobel” oil on canvas A Tiger resting under Trees. The present painting is therefore particularly interesting as a potential example of the artist’s less typical oil production. The composition is marked by meticulous treatment of architecture, a romantic view of an old city, and a small still-life of figures that enlivens the scene. The surface shows a natural network of cracks in the paint layer and the canvas and stretcher construction indicate the historical character of the work, though precise dating requires conservator inspection. The painting constitutes an interesting example of a romantic veduta with a historical-architectural character. The painting is housed in a beautiful ornate gold frame.

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