John J. Gredler Works of Art

Swiss Oil Painting of the Legend of William Tell

19th century oil on tin depicting the Legend of William Tell, showing Tell on bended knee aiming the crossbow at his son, bound and blindfolded against a tree with the apple on his head. Gessler is on horseback in the center, the pole with his hat on it that Tell refused to bow to next to him. A wonderfully detailed painting of the legend. In a later gilt wood frame.

Size of tin unframed: 5 9/16 wide by 3 7/16 high inches. Framed: 10.25 wide by 8 high by 2 deep.

The model for the painting is a copper engraving by the artists A. Zucchi and J. C. Schwab, printed in London, 1768. Beside the positioning of Gessler, the whole composition of the painting is quite similar. Another noticeable difference is the clothing in the painting, Tell is wearing a "Schlitzwams“, which at the time was considered to be the ancient Swiss clothing. This painting likely dates to between 1804 and 1830: Schillers play "Wilhelm Tell” (1804) gave a rise to the popularization of the Tell Myth in Europe.

Circa 1805 -1830.