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William Sommer

(Detroit, Michigan, 1867 - 1949, Northfield Center, Ohio)

Portrait of Rolf Stoll

c. 1925 - 1929

Oil on fiberboard

25 1/4 x 19 1/4 in. (64.3 x 49.0 cm)

Collection of the Akron Art Museum

Gift of Joseph M. Erdelac

2000.49

More Information

This painting has long been thought to depict Rolf Stoll, a Cleveland artist who was a fellow member of the Kokoon Klub, but he had dark hair and eyes. If this is Stoll, then the work is an extreme example of Sommer’s interpretive approach to portraiture in which he altered physical features to convey a particular mood. The figure’s heavy black outlines reveal Sommer’s interest in German expressionist art, while the patchy brushwork is reminiscent of the work of French painter Paul Cézanne, whom Sommer greatly admired.

Keywords
Ohio
Regional
Cleveland School
Painting
Male