The Hat Shop

The Hat Shop is perhaps August Macke's most famous painting of all, though Woman in a Green Jacket would come very close. This artwork has been referred to under a number of different names, including it's original German title of Frau mit Sonnenschirm vor Einem Hutladen.

August Macke was inspired by the leisure activities of his fellow citizens, and captured shopping trips on numerous occasions. This painting from 1914 features the standard style used throughout his career - relatively small use of detail, concentrating more on bright and bold colour. This expressionist approach was relatively new during the early 20th century but is now a well accepted thoroughbred of art history. Many still gain inspiration by the likes of August Macke and other related artists.

Most of his paintings of shoppers capture them looking through the windows of stores, rather than actually inside. They would always be well dressed, presumably rich. Leisure time was something that not everyone could enjoy at that time though at his was finally starting to change. The Victorian age marked major changes across European society and artists like this provide us a window into that time. In truth, most of this artist's success was due to the bright, expressionist style of his work, rather than the content included.

The original painting from 1914 can now be found at the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Western Germany. It is sized at just over half a metre wide and tall. Sadly, this was to be one of the artist's final artworks, with his life soon being lost in WWI. It was later seized at around the time of WWII because of the artist's relatively modern style but was later returned to the Essen Museum, now called the Folkwang Museum. It is one of their most valuable items within an impressive collection that also contains work from the likes of Franz Marc, Caspar David Friedrich and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.