AUGUST WILHELM SIEVERT (ATTRIBUTED)

STILL LIFE WITH CAT, GAME BIRD AND VEGETABLES

Oil on canvas
51.5 × 41 cm / 20.3 × 16.1 in
with frame: 63 × 53 cm / 24.8 × 20.8 in

PROVENANCE: European private collection.

This compelling still life, attributed to August Wilhelm Sievert, belongs to the small and rare group of works in which the artist moves beyond his well-known floral compositions into more unusual subjects such as vegetables, game and domestic animals. Sievert’s eye for botanical clarity is unmistakable: the cabbage, vegetables and plumage are presented with the same open, descriptive precision as in his flower pieces. Yet here this clarity is combined with a dramatic scene of a cat seizing a game bird — a motif deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of Baden-Württemberg, the region from which Sievert originated.

The subject matter also resonates with the celebrated Stuttgart-born animal painter Johann Friedrich Grooth (1717–1801), whose depictions of cats hunting or pursuing birds became emblematic within the region’s visual culture. While distinct in style, Sievert’s work clearly shares the same cultural lineage shaped by the hunting traditions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The combination of vivid natural observation, lively animal character and rustic symbolism gives the composition a strong decorative impact and marks it as a rare and engaging example within Sievert’s oeuvre.