A Lady
Historical Context
Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, a member of the prolific Tischbein painting dynasty, produced elegant portraits for the German aristocracy during the late 18th century. This portrait of a lady reflects the transition from Rococo to early Neoclassical taste in German portraiture. The Tischbein family produced at least five notable painters, making them one of the most remarkable artistic dynasties in German art history.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-canvas portrait employs a refined technique with smooth, blended brushwork creating porcelain-like skin and softly modeled features. The restrained palette and clear lighting show the influence of English portrait conventions filtering into German painting practice.
Provenance
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Bt. (died 1850) [according to annotated Peel Heirlooms sale catalogue in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, copy in curatorial file]; by descent in the Peel family to Robert Peel, 4th Bt.; sold with the Peel Heirlooms, Robinson and Fisher, London, May 11, 1900, no. 220, as Marie Antoinette, by Greuze, to Charles Wertheimer for 1350 guineas [according to the annotated sale catalogue cited above; price according to Mauclair and Martin 1905]; Charles Wertheimer, London, 1900. Probably Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, Viceroy of India (died 1935), 1903 until 1936 [according to a letter of January 9, 1937, from C.N. Anderson to Mrs. L. E. Block in the Art Institute archives, copy in curatorial file, stating that the painting was sold to R. C. Isaac, Lord Reading [sic]]; Anderson Galleries, Chicago, 1936 [according to letter cited above]; sold by Anderson Galleries to Mrs. Leopold E. Block (née Cora Bloom), 1937, as by Greuze [according to letter cited above]; given by her to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1961.
