Herr Hoffingen's estate

Back in Munich, Adolf was bursting with inspiration.

Eager to get going, he turned what used to be the guest room into his office. There, at the desk in front of the window, he sat down with his sketchbooks, selected images he liked, and transferred them into a separate sketchbook for completion. Carefully and systematically, Adolf roughed out one composition per page until he had a whole sketchbook filled with drawings for Herr Hoffingen to consider.

Pleased with his drafts, Adolf wrote Herr Hoffingen a message where he informed him of his progress. He requested a time and place for them to meet and discuss his work.

Two days later, Adolf received a response. It was an invitation to come and join Herr Hoffingen and his wife at their estate outside Munich. He was to take Dreufey along with him. Herr Hoffingen suggested that they come on Saturday afternoon the following week, stay the night, and leave around noon the next day.

"That way, we'll have time to look through your work and get to know you a little better," Otto von Hoffingen wrote in conclusion.

Having read the letter himself, Adolf took it with him into the living room where he found Dreufey in her sofa, drinking tea and reading a magazine. He handed the letter over to her.

"Isn't that great?" he asked.
"That's very promising," she agreed. "This is a great opportunity to show him what you're capable of. You better make the most of it. Make sure those drawings look their best."

The next few days, Adolf spent going through his sketches and touching up on them here and there.

When the day of their outing finally arrived, the two packed their suitcases, bought a bouquet of flowers in a flower shop, and set off for the suburbs.

They chose to dress in casual but elegant clothes for the occasion; Adolf in a brown suit with a vest, and a matching wide brimmed hat; Dreufey in a beige dress, a small brown hat with a short brim and a matching knee length coat.

It was a beautiful spring day, with the sun shining and only a few puffed clouds here and there.

After about an hour's driving, they caught the first glimpse of von Hoffingen's estate. Surrounded by gardens and farmland, his mansion stood majestically on top of a hill. It had a sloped terracotta roof and a pale yellow façade. Green ivy covered a substantial part of the mansion's north-facing wall.

After another two minutes of driving, they arrived at an iron gate set in a low stone wall along the main road. This marked the entrance to the estate. The gate stood open, so they could drive through it without stopping.

The driveway, lined with poplar trees to either side, was long and straight, with a clear view of the mansion on top of the hill. On reaching the end of it, they swung into the courtyard in front of the mansion, parked their car by the main entrance, and stepped out into the fresh air.

They went up to the door of the house, pulled the bell and waited; Adolf with their suitcase in one hand and his sketchbook under his other arm; Dreufey holding their bouquet of flowers. A maid opened the door. She was about thirty years old, wore a black dress with a white apron, and had her black hair tied into a bun at the back of her head.

"Put your suitcase over there," she said after letting them into the entrance hall. "I'll have it taken up to your room for you. You can hang your hats and your coat on the hat-stand over there. I'll take these flowers into the kitchen if you don't mind. I'll have them put in a vase."

Dreufey handed the flowers over to the maid who took them into the back of the house only to reappear shortly after, ready to show Adolf and Dreufey to their host and hostess.

The maid led them through a large sitting room and onto a terrace overlooking the garden to the south. They found Herr and Frau Hoffingen sitting by a table in the shade of an overhead balcony. On seeing that their guests had arrived, they got up to greet them.

Otto von Hoffingen was wearing a grey linen suit. His tall and elegant wife wore a knee length dress in shimmering satin. She wore a silver fox fur over her shoulders, and her shoulder-length hair was carefully sculptured into a series of waves.

Herr Hoffingen presented his wife to his guests.

"This is my wife, Heidi. And this is Eva and Adolf."
"Pleased to meet you Frau Hoffingen," Dreufey said, extending her hand for a handshake.

Frau Hoffingen gave Dreufey a firm and friendly handshake.

"Call me Heidi. You're here to relax, are you not?"
"That's true."
"And this is not your first time here, is it?"
"No. I was here with Freyr some time ago."
"You see. We're practically friends already."

Turning to Adolf, and shaking his hand too, she insisted again that they should call her Heidi.

"Isn't that so, Otto?" she asked her husband. "Today, we're Heidi and Otto."
"Absolutely. You're right, as always."

He shook hands with Dreufey and Adolf. Then he begged them to sit down at their table.

"So, what have you got for us here?" Otto asked on seeing Adolf's sketchbook.
"Do you want to have a look at this right away?" Adolf asked.
"Yes. Why not? It's the reason for you coming here, isn't it? It will give us something to talk about. There's nothing like business to set off a good conversation."

Adolf opened his sketchbook, and started to leaf through it.

"Remember, these are sketches. We can mix and match these anyway you'd like," he explained." If there's something you like in one sketch, it can be brought into another sketch and then rendered into the final painting."

"These sketches are beautiful," Heidi said in a hushed tone.
Otto agreed. "They show a fine mixture of calm and passion. This is very different from what others have presented to me. This has depth. There's something going on between Odin and Eva. Much better than just Odin and Thor battling monsters."

Otto went onto complain about the bland flatness with which Norse mythology was often presented. 

"You seem to know a thing or two about Norse mythology," Dreufey said.
"Unlike many who claim to know about the gods, I've studied the texts. There's more to Norse mythology than Ragnarok. But that seems to be the only thing people care about."

A young maid in a black dress and apron, and with red hair cut into a bob, appeared with the flowers that Dreufey and Adolf had brought. They had been put nicely into a porcelain vase.

"These are a gift from Eva and Adolf," she explained as she put the vase on the table.
"Thank you. They're beautiful," Heidy said with a smile. "Be a darling and brew some more coffee for us, will you? And we need more biscuits as well."

The maid bent her knee. Then she returned to the kitchen.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around the gardens, admiring Otto's fine collection of art, and talking about everything from Norse mythology to politics and current affairs. Dreufey was happy to note that Adolf refrained from any kind of anger or passion related to the state of the world.

"The world is a mess," Adolf said at one point over dinner. "But what can we do?"
"I firmly believe that the world can only be made better through the arts," Heidi said.

But Otto wasn't so sure about that.

"I find much of what passes as art these days quite dreadful," he said.
"Can it even be called art?" his wife asked rhetorically.
"As Adolf so eloquently said at Eva's party the other day: The way to fight this trend is to produce something better. I'm so glad we still have talented artists among us."

They raised their glasses. "To fine art!" Otto said. "To fine art," they all agreed. Then they took a sip of Otto's excellent red wine before continuing their meal.

They ended the day late at night in front of the fireplace in Otto's reading room. It was an intimate space with made to measure bookcases full of leather-back books. The room's chairs and sofas were deep and comfortable; covered in brown velvet that matched the room's wood paneling and rustic overall feel.

Their conversations continued until deep in the night, with the four of them sipping Cognac and staring into the fire. When they finally headed for bed, they were all a bit tipsy and in need of a good night's sleep, so they agreed to meet in the dining room for breakfast no earlier than ten o'clock the next morning.

However, when Dreufey and Adolf arrived at the dining room the next morning, refreshed and in excellent form, their hosts weren't there. The only one in the room was the maid with the red bob, who was there to serve them breakfast.

The table was set for four, each plate with a glass next to it filled with freshly squeezed orange juice. Slices of toast, together with butter, jams and other spreads were laid out on a silver tray for them to help themselves. There were also soft-boiled eggs in a basket. 

Seeing that Dreufey and Adolf were a little lost without their hosts present, the maid told them to sit down and start their breakfast on their own, without waiting for Herr and Frau Hoffingen.

"It's on their orders," she said. "They want you to feel at home, and not sit around waiting for them."
"That's very kind of them," Dreufey replied.
"It's the way they always treat their guests."
"You like it here?" Dreufey asked.
"Very much so. They're a generous couple. Well-liked by everyone."

Dreufey and Adolf didn't have to wait long for Heidi and Otto to appear. They had barely started on their soft-boiled eggs when the couple appeared, looking thoroughly refreshed themselves.

After some small talk, Otto brought their conversation back to Adolf's work.

"We've spent some time this morning looking through your sketches," Otto said. "That's why we were a little late."
"And we've reached a decision," Heidi added. "We want you to make a series of four paintings centered around the old oak tree. We feel that there's a story there, and that you can put it together in a way that is both compelling and subtle."
"You think you could do that?"

Adolf was at first dumbstruck. This was far more than he had hoped for. Then, as he realized that this was no prank, but yet another incredible bit of good luck, he became all smiles.

"Of course, I can do that. It will be an honor, and I'm especially fond of that theme, so it will be a great pleasure to render it into a finished painting."
"Four paintings," Otto corrected.
"Yes. Four paintings!"

With no lack of things to talk about, the four of them took their time over breakfast. The sun shone in at an angle through the large window out towards the front lawn.

"What name should we give the project?" Heidi asked, looking over at Dreufey.
"How about 'Odin brings Eva to Earth'?"
"Well...That's an excellent title. Don't you agree, Otto?"
"Absolutely. I can hardly wait to see the finished paintings."

Adolf was all smiles. "I won't let you down. I can hardly wait to get started myself."

Two months later, Adolf and Dreufey had the Hoffingen's over to their place to pick up their four paintings.

Otto and Heidi had been visiting them several times to check on Adolf's progress. They had seen the compositions come to life, but they were nevertheless surprised and delighted to see how Adolf was able to elevate the composition with his final touches.

The project proved a great success and the start of a lifelong friendship. The couples became regular visitors to each other's parties, and with the prestige that came with their friendship, other members of Munich's high society started asking Adolf for paintings to hang on their walls. Adolf became a sought-after painter, and money started rolling in.

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