Adolf Lins, 12 Geese, Oil Painting on Cardboard, Framed

Adolf Lins, nicknamed "Gänselins" (1856-1927), Willingshausen, Schwalm: 12 Geese by the Willingshausen Stream

Oil on cardboard, approx. 29.5 x 38 cm, frame included free of charge, approx. 43.2 x 51.8 cm.

Adolf Lins, nicknamed "Gänselins" (born October 21, 1856, in Kassel; died March 26, 1927, in Düsseldorf), was a German painter. He is associated with the Düsseldorf School of Painting and belonged to the Willingshausen artists' colony.

His first stay in the artists' village of Willingshausen in the Schwalm region, in 1874 (and then every year until 1908), resulted from the recommendation of his Kassel Academy professors, who wanted to intensify his painting technique through practical study on site. In the village, his direct and open manner won the affection of the children, who became the subjects of his paintings. On subsequent visits, the news immediately spread among the young villagers: "Lins is here!" He also quickly gained a special reputation among the adults, thanks to his spontaneous manner and his painting with his easel outdoors in front of the Haase Inn, the true artists' retreat. His friendship with the Düsseldorf painters Hermann Sondermann and Nikolaus Barthelmess motivated him to move to Düsseldorf himself in 1877.


[The last sentence appears to be a fragment and is omitted.] In Düsseldorf, where he settled in the house of the carpentry and art shipping company Georg Paffrath (1847–1925) at Jacobistraße 14c[1] and initially worked for Ferdinand Brütt, he became a member of the artists' association Malkasten, for which he also wrote plays and poems; the circle called "Orient," founded in 1878, which also included Eduard Kaempffer, Hugo Mühlig, Heinrich Otto, Hans von Volkmann, and Fritz von Wille;[2] and the Association of Düsseldorf Artists for Mutual Support and Assistance. In 1891, he co-founded the secessionist Free Association of Düsseldorf Artists. from 1902 to 1906, Lins was a member of the board of directors of the Düsseldorf Art Gallery. After the "Artists' and Studio House" of the Association of Düsseldorf Artists was built at Sittarder Straße 5, he moved into a studio there.

In 1915, Lins met Gertrud Klein, who became his housekeeper; However, it wasn't until four years before his death, in 1923, that the painter legitimized his relationship with her through a marriage contract. In 1926, he suffered a stroke and developed diabetes. One of his eyes had to be surgically removed. Lins died on February 26, 1927, and was buried in Düsseldorf's North Cemetery. His wife continued to live in the studio house on Sittarder Straße.