anyone ever told you that you look just like
Glor-ia Gaynor?'
8 A GOOD EYE
T HERE HAVE BEEN Grebenars living in the small
town of Hertzendorf, nestled in the Bavarian hills, for more than three hundred
years.
The first Grebenar of any note was Hans Julius,
born in 1641, the youngest son of a miller. Hans worked diligently as a pupil
at the town's only school, and became the first member of the family to attend
university.
After four years of conscientious study, the
young man left Heidelberg with a law degree.
Despite this achievement, Hans did not hanker
after the cosmopolitan life of Munich or even the more gentle charm of
Friedrichsville. Rather, he returned to the place of his birth, where he rented
a set of rooms in the centre of the town and opened his own law practice.
As the years went by, Hans Julius was
elected to the local council, later becoming a freeman of the town as well as
an elder of the parish church. Towards the end of his days he was responsible
for establishing the town's first municipal museum. If that had been all Herr
Grebenar achieved, commendable though it was, he would have gone to his
grave unworthy of even a short story.
However, there is more to be said about this
man because God had given him a rare gift: a good eye.
Young Grebenar began to take an interest in paintings
and sculptures while he was at university, and once he'd seen everything Heidelberg
had to offer (several times), he took every opportunity to travel to other
cities in order to view their treasures.
During his bachelor years he put together a small
but worthy collection, his limited means not allowing him to acquire anything of
real significance. That changed the day he prosecuted Friedrich Bloch, who
appeared before the court on a charge of being drunk and disorderly.
Herr Grebenar wouldn't have given the
uncouth ruffian a second thought had Bloch not described himself on the court
sheet as a painter. Curiosity got the better of the prosecutor, and after Bloch
had been fined ten marks, an amount he was ordered to pay within seven days or
face a three-month jail sentence, Grebenar decided to follow him back to his home
in the hope of finding out if he painted walls or canvases.
Over the years, Grebenar had come to admire
the works of Caravaggio, Rubens and Bruegel, and on one occasion he had even travelled
to Amsterdam to view the works of Rembrandt at his studio, but the moment he set
eyes on his first Bloch, Child Pushing a Wheelbarrow, he realized that he was
in the presence of a remarkable talent.
An hour later, the lawyer left Bloch's
studio with an empty purse but in possession of two self-portraits in oil, as
well as Child Pushing a Wheelbarrow. He then went straight to the guild house,
where he withdrew a large enough sum of money to cause the clerk to raise an
eyebrow.
After a light lunch he returned to court, where
he discharged the artist's fine, which caused
several more raised eyebrows, because he had successfully prosecuted the
miscreant only that morning.
When the court rose later that afternoon, Grebenar,
still wearing his long black gown and wing collar, took a carriage back to the artist's
home. Bloch was surprised to see the prosecutor for a third time that day, and
was even more surprised when he handed over the largest number of coins the
artist had ever seen, in return for every painting, drawing and notebook that bore
Bloch's signature.
Herr Grebenar did not come across Friedrich Bloch
again until the artist was arrested a year later, on the far more serious
charge of attempted murder.
Grebenar visited the artist in prison where he
languished while awaiting trial. He informed an incredulous Bloch that he was willing
to defend him against the charge of attempted murder, but should he get him
off, he would require a rather unusual recompense. Bloch, having gone through
all his money, agreed to the lawyer's terms without question.
On the morning of the trial Herr Grebenar was
inspired; he
Glor-ia Gaynor?'
8 A GOOD EYE
T HERE HAVE BEEN Grebenars living in the small
town of Hertzendorf, nestled in the Bavarian hills, for more than three hundred
years.
The first Grebenar of any note was Hans Julius,
born in 1641, the youngest son of a miller. Hans worked diligently as a pupil
at the town's only school, and became the first member of the family to attend
university.
After four years of conscientious study, the
young man left Heidelberg with a law degree.
Despite this achievement, Hans did not hanker
after the cosmopolitan life of Munich or even the more gentle charm of
Friedrichsville. Rather, he returned to the place of his birth, where he rented
a set of rooms in the centre of the town and opened his own law practice.
As the years went by, Hans Julius was
elected to the local council, later becoming a freeman of the town as well as
an elder of the parish church. Towards the end of his days he was responsible
for establishing the town's first municipal museum. If that had been all Herr
Grebenar achieved, commendable though it was, he would have gone to his
grave unworthy of even a short story.
However, there is more to be said about this
man because God had given him a rare gift: a good eye.
Young Grebenar began to take an interest in paintings
and sculptures while he was at university, and once he'd seen everything Heidelberg
had to offer (several times), he took every opportunity to travel to other
cities in order to view their treasures.
During his bachelor years he put together a small
but worthy collection, his limited means not allowing him to acquire anything of
real significance. That changed the day he prosecuted Friedrich Bloch, who
appeared before the court on a charge of being drunk and disorderly.
Herr Grebenar wouldn't have given the
uncouth ruffian a second thought had Bloch not described himself on the court
sheet as a painter. Curiosity got the better of the prosecutor, and after Bloch
had been fined ten marks, an amount he was ordered to pay within seven days or
face a three-month jail sentence, Grebenar decided to follow him back to his home
in the hope of finding out if he painted walls or canvases.
Over the years, Grebenar had come to admire
the works of Caravaggio, Rubens and Bruegel, and on one occasion he had even travelled
to Amsterdam to view the works of Rembrandt at his studio, but the moment he set
eyes on his first Bloch, Child Pushing a Wheelbarrow, he realized that he was
in the presence of a remarkable talent.
An hour later, the lawyer left Bloch's
studio with an empty purse but in possession of two self-portraits in oil, as
well as Child Pushing a Wheelbarrow. He then went straight to the guild house,
where he withdrew a large enough sum of money to cause the clerk to raise an
eyebrow.
After a light lunch he returned to court, where
he discharged the artist's fine, which caused
several more raised eyebrows, because he had successfully prosecuted the
miscreant only that morning.
When the court rose later that afternoon, Grebenar,
still wearing his long black gown and wing collar, took a carriage back to the artist's
home. Bloch was surprised to see the prosecutor for a third time that day, and
was even more surprised when he handed over the largest number of coins the
artist had ever seen, in return for every painting, drawing and notebook that bore
Bloch's signature.
Herr Grebenar did not come across Friedrich Bloch
again until the artist was arrested a year later, on the far more serious
charge of attempted murder.
Grebenar visited the artist in prison where he
languished while awaiting trial. He informed an incredulous Bloch that he was willing
to defend him against the charge of attempted murder, but should he get him
off, he would require a rather unusual recompense. Bloch, having gone through
all his money, agreed to the lawyer's terms without question.
On the morning of the trial Herr Grebenar was
inspired; he
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