Painting of the Day: Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847

Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In this painting by Carl Johann Lasch from 1847, we see “Count Eberhard Cutting the Table-Cloth.” The scene takes place in a well-appointed dining room with a guard in armor and two men in medieval costume who sit around a table. The older, bearded man cuts the tablecloth with a knife while the younger man is looking down at a dog.

This sort of historical scene was typical of the paintings produced by the Munich School, one the two main artistic centers in Nineteenth-century Germany. The scene here is a retelling of a famous take as the Count Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg (1315-92) cuts the tablecloth to show his anger with his son. This concept was inspired by a ballad by the poet Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862). Lasch, the artist, has a keen interest in history and the origins of families.

Carl Johann Lasch (1822-1888) was born in Leipzig and was a pupil of the Academy in Dresden and of Schnorr and Kaultach in Munich. After travelling the world, he became a painting instructor in Munich by the 1860s.