"The New Vintage"
by Klaus Strubelview biographyKlaus S t r u b e l
Academic Painter of Fine Art
/ Art Historian
Title: “The New Vintage”
By Klaus Strubel
We are in a historic deep, cool and airy wine cellar
of a European Monastery in the 19th century.
In the background, members of the Dominican Order can be seen in their white cowl hosting their guest,
a Franciscan Friar, in his brown cowl. They are seated beneath the cellar window and bright sunny daylight is streaming down on them.
In the
foreground, we see the master of wine on the ladder above a big wine-cask, - an impressive hand-carved oak barrel, - to examine the processing stage
and the clarity of the new vintage. To perform this traditional ceremony, the master first uses his special wine tool, a mouth-blown glass
suction-pipe with a wine collecting chamber to get a sample of the wine. He then uses this tool as a funnel and empties it into a wine glass which he
is holding against the light of a burning candle. Another important detail is a scissors hanging on a string from the candle holder to keep the wick
short, so that the flame of the candle is always clear and bright.
The Friar in front of the cask is waiting for him and is already holding the
clay jug for this new vintage and also a plate with a typical selection of ham, cheese and bread for the celebration of the new vintage.
While
I was university student in Germany, I also studied Art History and travelled through Europe to visit historic landmarks, museums, cathedrals and
famous monasteries. I often took the opportunity to rent a boarding room in some of the famous monasteries because you could learn so much about the
history and the various fields of expertise, - especially the one that fascinated me: The making of wine and champagne.
For ages, the brothers in
their different orders have represented the highest level of culture. They were the keepers of science, education, inventions, literature, fine art,
music and developers of world famous champagne and excellent wines.
During wine tasting in their cellars, I was surrounded by historic tools and
equipment, hand carved casks and had wonderful talks with the cellarers.
These lasting impressions inspired me to preserve certain situations in
the life of the Masters of Winemaking
The play of the feature in my works tells whole stories. Each mime in their faces, their gestures, their
hands and fingers and many more details, bring life into these captured moments. Now and then, I inject a little touch of humour in circumstances of
their life; after all, they are only human.
My use of two different sources of light, - an artificial and a natural one, - as seen in my painting,
such as the sunny daylight and the soft candle light, creates a delicate tenseness in my composition.
The artistic quality of my painting contains
historic details and authentic tools the winemakers worked with.
I want my paintings to be entertaining, conversational pieces for the art
collectors and at the same time to be very decorative.