I discovered and purchased a great painting that shows the sinking Bismarck with a German soldier holding onto the ship's flag pole and German crew members swimming for life rings, being rescued, and British? ships burning in the background.
The painting is clearly period and is dated 1941 and the artist's name ends with what appears to be REMOSER or initals and MOSER. I would like to find out if this was painted by a crewmember of one of the ships. Because many Germans fled to Argentina after the war and because of the name my assumption was that this was a German artist. I know little or nothing about Naval history as I am a US Army officer.
I would like to know if somone could help me identify the flags, uniforms, ships, and the aircraft in a painting that was painted in 1941 "Sinking of the Bismarck".
This is a very intriguing and scary painting. Obviously, I am not an art historian, but the picture appears to me to be a surrealistic and satirical representation of the sinking. The German war flag is correct in its design, but not in the proper proportion. Most important, the battleship Bismarck is a rendition of an old tin toy battleship rather than a real naval ship. The aircraft has perhaps British markings, but the blue is missing. The picture looks like a bad dream. R.E. Moser was not a member of the crew; although there were several POW artists among those interned in Canada. I would like to see the signature. "Remoser" would probably not be a German name. However, there is no doubt that this a very interesting painting, of historic significance. It is very likely, a well-executed satirical political spoof on the sinking. I doubt very much that it is an illustration for a children's book. Could you send me a scan or high resolution photo? As to its worth, Christie Auctions give free estimates. All you need to do is fill out an online form.
The painting looks like a pure propaganda piece to me. It shows the glory of the sailor holding onto the battle flag as the Bismarck is going down. The ships in the background are probably the Hood sinking and the Prince of Wales on fire, depicting the great victory of the Bismarck in the battle of the Denmark Strait.
Certainly, I could be totally off course and it could be just sheer Nazi propaganda. However, the entire scene does not seem to depict reality or anything that is very positive for the Kriegsmarine's image. First of all, why did the artist depict the Bismarck simply as a cheap tin toy ship of 1914-18 vintage? That is quite strange and it portrays a sense of futility. It does not look like a positive propaganda image to me. Paintings, and even photos, can be perceived in various ways, and I am inclined to believe that this one represents a negative impression of the war. It would be nice to find out who the painter was and what his real intentions were.
I'm having trouble posting a reply, I'm new to the forum and how this thing works.
I can see both sides, one could see the German soldier as "the last man standing" or reaching out for help in despiration as his fellow soldiers drown around him.
I don't see the name Bismarck painted on the front of the ship photos so this very well may have been painted as an illistration for a German/British newspaper. Are there any actual photographs of the sinking of the Bismarck?
Any idea how this would end up in Argentina? Any ideas where the last name of MOSER would be from if not from Germany?
... and British ship I know of. I see a tripod mast, but trhese were found on many ships in the RN. As for the ship in the background, there is not enough visible in the superstructure for me to make any determination. This seems a romantic depiction that has little semblance to anything that actually happened -- other than the Bismarck sinking.
I echo Jose's sentiments, and I also welcome you aboard.
I don't think that the artist had the slightest idea of what the Bismarck really looked like, at least not in detail. The lettering looks as if the name had been sencilled on the ship. Note the gaps in certain letters.
Anyway, I believe the painting to be somewhat amateurish and probably not of any historical significance. The artist did, however, seem to have a way with colors.
Sorry I haven't replied to your pm before now, I have been a bit busy with work stuff . Also I cannot, as yet, find where my pms are, so I'll reply here if I may.
Sadly I cannot help with any suggestions as to how to track this picture down. I did a search for "R E Moser" on google and there are a number of replies. Some seem to be from people of German ancestry living, I think, in America. I haven't got the time to follow all these up as yet, but maybe over the weekend I will get some time. All depends upon whether my wife succeeds in dragging me off to an F1 party tomorrow.
I would not jump to the conclusion just yet that the painting is amateurish and/or worthless in its conception or execution. It is the depiction of someone's illusions who lived in 1941. I like that. It is hard to say what the sailor on the stern of that Bismarck is supposed to signify; I doubt that he is standing on the bow, because of the battle flag (not the jack=Gösch) and the stenciled name. Such stenciled or decal stern names were quite common on toy ships and exhibition models, and even on real Kriegsmarine ships about the time of the Bismarck. Why would a painter depict the Bismarck as a toy tin ship in the dimensions of a large bath tub? I think that this portrays somekind of illusion and delivers an artistic message. I think we may lack a certain amount of understanding of the theme and purpose of the painting; however, I don't believe the picture is amateurish or childish or just outright trash. Certainly, if I owned it, I would sink in the money to have it restored. The understanding of the Bismarck's existence and demise in terms of psychological effects seems to me just as important as raw data or reconstructed charts.
I would tend to agree with you Ulrich, I did buy the darn thing. I've seen a lot of war scenes as oil paintings and most are pretty expensive. This one is neat because of the important subject, heck, this forum wouldn't exist if this wasn't an important military event.
I like the fact that one can interpret this painting in two very different ways. I do plan to have it restored but I want to make sure that it is done well just in case it isn't junk. Finding out who painted this is going to be a big Key. I think I might take this to PBS's Antiques Roadshow in Tampa if I can get a ticket to let the experts have a go at it. I'm definately not an art expert but there is something very strong about this painting but I can't really put my finger on it.
It may not be accurate but somehow I don't think it was ever meant to be the exact representation, rather someone's impression of what they saw or imagined might have happened out at sea.
Please, I did not call the painting childish or just trash. I do consider it somewhat amateurish in technique, but it also has some interesting detail, not only with resopect to the flag, but also the sinking ship at the right. Its tripod mast and upper enclosed observation platform is remeniscent of the Hood's configuration.
Since it does not represent what actually happened at one point in time, it cannot be considered to be an accurate representation of a historic event, hence my comment of having no historical significance. However, it does in a way portray the sinking of the Bismarck, which was a historical event.
I would surmise that there would have been any number of patriotic amateur artists in Germany that would have been caught up by the events of the day and used their limited skills to glorify the Bismarck and her brave crew on canvas. Moser may have painted the picture shortly after the demise of the Bismarck before any detailed photographs of the ship had been released, and he was just relying on his own imagination to depict the ship..
In that sense, I do believe that the painting may have some value, but how much is problematical. If Moser turned out to be an artist of some renown after the war, the painting could be of even greater value.
If he was/is an artist of renown he doesn't show up on google. I haven't had time to devote to a thorough reading of all the results for "r e moser", but fame would surely have put him fairly well up the list? Anyway, I will continue to search once I have a little spare time (scarce at the moment).
This may be the only picture that R E Moser ever did. And he may have been such an amatuer that search machines would not mention him at all. (Koloman Moser, yes. But he died in 1931.) If the picture was really painted in Argentina in 1941, it may have been done by someone who was interned or confined there. Many POW's and internees turned to arts and crafts to pass the time. The main thing is that the picture is a remarkable imaginary view of the overall disaster. Would anyone know, if this aircraft resembles a real RAF machine? Or is it also an illusionary object. It certainly looks unharmed and seems to be an observer of the scene. It does not look like it belongs to an aircraft carrier.
I was told in an email from the Royal Navy Museum that the aircraft in question does not match the two types of aircraft that flew from carriers in the region during the time of the battle. I don't know if they were close enough to land for it to be a land based aircraft.
. Also I cannot, as yet, find where my pms are, so I'll reply here if I may.