Portrait of Franz Liszt

Henri Lehmann painted Franz Liszt in 1839, capturing the virtuoso pianist at the height of his European fame. Liszt was twenty-eight and in the midst of his legendary concert tours that made him the most celebrated musician in Europe. Lehmann, a German-born painter trained under Ingres in Paris, specialized in portraits of the cultural elite. This portrait captures Liszt's famous combination of musical genius and charismatic personality.

Lehmann renders Liszt with the smooth, refined technique learned from Ingres, capturing the pianist's celebrated features with flattering precision. The warm palette and careful handling create an image of Romantic artistic genius appropriate to the most famous musician of the age.