Description
The sitter for this portrait, Ernest Ebenstein, was a distinguished tailor to the Austrian aristocracy. Ebenstein took an interest in the young Oskar Kokoschka and offered not only to make the artist’s clothes but also to instruct him in anatomy. In exchange for a fine suit, the tailor commissioned this portrait, which was one of the first mature works Kokoschka ever completed. Shortly after the Art Institute acquired the work in the mid-1950s, the artist visited the museum and recalled Ebenstein as a charming and kind man who taught him more about anatomy than anyone else.
Provenance
Ernest Ebenstein, Vienna [commissioned portrait from artist], 1908-September 22, 1926. Purchased by Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin, September 22, 1926. Purchased by Hugo Simon, Berlin (later Paris and Rio de Janeiro), February 1, 1927-c. 1954. Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, by 1954-June 1955. Galerie St. Etienne, New York, by October 1955 [Winnipeg 1955]. Purchased by Art Institute, December 1956.
Accession Number
2893
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
101.8 × 81.1 cm (40 1/16 × 31 15/16 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Gift of the Joseph WInterbotham Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Oskar Kokoschka's Commerce Counselor Ebenstein (1908) is an oil on canvas portrait from early in the artist's career. This portrait of a Viennese businessman shows the young Kokoschka already displaying the psychological intensity and expressive brushwork that would characterize his work. The sitter is captured with directness and penetration, his character revealed through Kokoschka's handling of paint.
Cultural Impact
This early portrait established Kokoschka's reputation as a penetrating psychological portraitist.
Why It Matters
This early portrait of a Viennese businessman shows Kokoschka's emerging gift for psychological portraiture.
