Oil on canvas
71 x 55 cm, framed 74 x 58 cm
Monogrammed lower right.
Johann Georg Dreydorff, born in Germany in 1873, was an exponent of post-impressionism; with the myriad influences of Pointilism, Luminism and Divisionism clear in his work. In 'In Expectation, Interior', throughout the canvas, but most clearly in the rug, he has applied a series of single different coloured marks side by side, which mix in the viewer's eye to create a shimmering effect. Light itself is a main subject, here, and he paints it streaming through the window in a series of broken flecks, leading to it appearing to pulsate. There too, is something of the mysterious stillness present in Vilhelm Hammershoi's work, with the enigmatic lady with her back to us quietly staring out the window. This piece is a wonderful mixing pot of several new innovations and tropes running through the exciting and rapidly developing art of the 1890’s.
Dreydorff, the son of the Reformed theologian Johann Georg Dreydorff, attended the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1892 to 1894. From 1895, he lived, probably at the suggestion of Eugen Kampf, in the Belgian coastal town of Knokke. He was influenced by Paul Baum, Camille Pissaro and Théo van Rysellberghe, who had all being living there the previous year. He would go on to become a corresponding member of the Berlin Secession .
