Lot 1229 | Protrait of a Young Lady

LENBACH, FRANZ SERAPH VON
1836 Schrobenhausen - 1904 Munich


Title: Protrait of a Young Lady.
(Lida Mitchel Fenton?).
Technique: Oil on card.
Measurement: 59 x 55,5cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower left: F. Lenbach / 1893.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.
Provenance:
Private ownership, Italy.

The Munich painter prince Franz von Lenbach built himself a kingdom with brush and canvas that was equal to nothing in terms of splendour and appeal and was revered by the nobility and the bourgeoisie alike. He spent his childhood as the son of a master city mason in relative prosperity thanks to the economic boom. Lenbach also first learned a trade in order to be able to join his father's business. But his artistic talent was soon discovered by his teachers and he attended the Royal Bavarian School in Augsburg to be taught figure drawing. In addition to his education, he enjoyed going out into nature and devoted himself to painting with oil colours. After successfully completing his studies, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1854.
Lenbach developed rapidly and soon he was able to finance his livelihood with his works of art. He quickly gained fame especially for his portrait painting. He created admirable portrayals of, among others, Otto von Bismarck, the two German emperors Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II, as well as many prominent personalities from business, art and society of the late 19th century. The present painting on cardboard by Franz von Lenbach is also such a portrait. It shows a young lady averting her gaze from her viewers and looking down. She wears her long, reddish hair in an elegant up-do. Around her shoulders is a light-coloured shawl, which she holds together with one hand in front of her chest. The young lady looks embarrassed and uncertain, but a small smile can be seen on her lips.
The painting is kept in reddish tones, which results in a wonderful play of colours that invites its viewers to linger.