The Chimney Corner, 1893, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Samuel B. Sachs, 1928.136

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy. I am the Associate Director of Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description for The Chimney Corner, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

The Chimney Corner from 1893 is an oil painting on canvas. It was a gift of Mrs. Samuel B. Sachs. The accession number is 1928.136

Mosler’s landscape-oriented painting, The Chimney Corner, measures 38 and ¼ inches by 51 and 5/16 inches. In this work, we see two young adults sitting in front of a fire. The stone fireplace is quite large, encompassing most of the background of the painting. The figures sit on the stone hearth. Although a fire burns, mostly ashes, instead of logs, are visible. To the left of the fireplace is a shelf storing vessels, a cabinet, and a wooden chair.

The two figures, a young woman on the left and a young man on the right, are the subjects of this work. The woman is white, with dark brown hair pulled and tucked under a white cap. She wears a floor-length, long-sleeved dress with a white lace collar, brown bodice, blue skirt, and green apron. The toe of a black shoe pokes out from under the skirt. In her hands, she holds a set of bellows to stoke the fire. She faces the young man, making eye contact, a smile on her face. The young man to the right is also white with short-clipped brown hair visible under a black brimmed hat. He wears a high-necked white shirt under a dark blue vest with two rows of buttons down the front. Over this, he wears a tan coat with yellow edging. His knee-length pants match his jacket, and black gaiters cover his lower legs. His ankles are bare, and he wears brown clogs with straw stuffed in them. He holds a green umbrella between his legs with his left hand, and he has a match in his right.

Label Text

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy. I am the Associate Director of Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the label for The Chimney Corner, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

The Chimney Corner from 1893 is an oil painting on canvas. It was a gift of Mrs. Samuel B. Sachs. The accession number is 1928.136

Courtship was the subject of several of Mosler’s paintings. Here, he encourages us to consider whether, indeed, opposites attract. The bits of straw sticking out of the man’s wooden shoes contrast with the woman’s neat appearance. He holds a match to kindle the fire while she holds bellows to stoke the flames. In 1898, a critic for Metropolitan Magazine wrote, "In [The Chimney Corner], a young man evidently is relating to his fair companion some extraordinary tale of love or adventure, and she is trying to puzzle out how much of it she ought to believe.

One might argue that this painting, which appeared in Paris at the Salon in 1893, is among the artist’s most successful. This is not only because it exemplifies compelling storytelling but also for the fireside illumination, jewel-like colors, and uncluttered composition.

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