I wanted to go ahead and post this, because I have mentioned this watercolor in several of my posts, but have never shown it here. I purchased this at an estate sale several months before I found this site (about a year ago). I have used this piece as an example of the necessity of removing an art piece from it's frame to aid in identifying it. The purpose of this is twofold. Frequently (especially old pieces), the framers did not use conservation techniques when mounting the artwork and the acids from the matting and backing can damage a fine print and should be replaced with acid free materials. The main reason I remove the pieces from their old frames, though, is to aid in the identification process. There is often information (such as artists' name, dates, catalog numbers, ect.) on the back that is not apparent until it is removed. Sometimes there are pleasant suprises. As can be seen from my photos, this is a watercolor on paper and the only identifier on the front is a cartouche I was not familiar with nor could I read. However, when I removed it from it's frame I not only found the name of the artist and the date it was produced, I discovered another piece of art! The artist was Wilhelm Dietz, a early 20th century German artist from Munich, and while not particularly well known himself, was an instructor at the Munich Art Academy at the turn of the 20th century and his student roster reads like a whos who of early 20th century impressionists. Now my only problem is which side do I display when I remat it?
