Marinus Dittlinger (1896–1954)
Still Life with Fruit in a Landscape
Monogrammed lower right, circa 1929
Oil on canvas
38 x 29 cm
Set in the original frame

Provenance:
Private collection, Leiden.

Condition:
In very good condition.

Additional Information:
A remarkable example of Dittlinger’s rare and atmospheric oeuvre.
With an atmosphere that is both mysterious and poetic, this painting by Marinus Bonifacius Willem Dittlinger presents an intriguing composition where a still life merges with a dreamy, almost surreal landscape. In the foreground lie an oval, a round, and a split-open fruit revealing glossy seeds, motifs that in the Symbolist art tradition often refer to fertility, eroticism, and transience.

The background features an imaginative mountainous landscape bathed in the soft light of a full moon. It does not appear to depict a real location but rather springs from an inner world, typical of Dittlinger’s dreamlike landscapes.

Marinus Dittlinger is regarded as a Dutch Symbolist who developed a serene, suggestive visual language in the 1920s and ’30s. His work shows affinities with artists such as Jan Mankes and Dick Ket, but distinguishes itself through a more poetic, narrative quality and a subtle erotic undertone. Dittlinger’s works are included in the collections of the Noordbrabants Museum, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and Stedelijk Museum Breda.