Description

This portrait typifies painting in Vienna between 1815 and 1865, an era known as the Biedermeier period, during which the Habsburg government promoted positive artistic depictions of Viennese life and culture. The mountains in the background express both the artist's romantic fascination with nature and patriotic devotion to his Austrian homeland. The sitter, Crescentia Seilern, was a prestigious member of the aristocracy who married Hungarian reformist patriot István Széchenyi.

Provenance

Possibly Dr. Izidor Deutsch [d. 1906], Budapest (Before 1906); Maximilian Mauthner, Schloss Feistritz, Wechsel, Austria (Probably until 1925); (Sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, June 15, 1925, lot 69) (1925); Possibly Dr. Paul Eger [1881-1947], Basel (Before 1940); (Sale, Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Nov. 7-9, 1940, lot 1250, sold to Galerie Nathan) (1940); (Galerie Nathan, Zürich) (1940-); (Erich von Kreibig, Munich) (By 1970); (Sale, Neumeister, Munich, Sept. 20-22, 1972, lot 1689 (1972); (Galerie Grünwald, Munich) (From 1972?); Private collection, Munich (By 1987?); (David Carritt, Ltd./Artemis Group, London, and Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1988); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1988-)

Countess Széchenyi

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

1828

Accession Number

1988.57

Medium

oil on fabric

Dimensions

Framed: 121.5 x 102 x 10.5 cm (47 13/16 x 40 3/16 x 4 1/8 in.); Unframed: 97.8 x 78.5 cm (38 1/2 x 30 7/8 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund

Background & Context

Background Story

Countess Széchenyi from 1828 is one of Waldmüller's most accomplished portraits, depicting a member of the Hungarian aristocracy with the precision and compositional elegance that distinguish his best portraiture. The 1828 date places this in Waldmüller's most productive period as a portraitist, when he was painting the Viennese aristocracy and the rising bourgeoisie with the same attention to detail that he brought to his landscapes. The countess's dress, jewelry, and setting are rendered with the almost photographic precision that makes Waldmüller's portraits invaluable documents of Biedermeier fashion and interior design.

Cultural Impact

Waldmüller's portraits of the aristocracy are important documents of Biedermeier fashion and interior design because they record the clothing, jewelry, and furnishings of the period with an almost photographic precision. Countess Széchenyi demonstrates Waldmüller's ability to combine the compositional elegance of aristocratic portraiture with the photographic attention to detail that distinguishes Biedermeier painting from the more idealized portraiture of the preceding period.

Why It Matters

Countess Széchenyi is Waldmüller's Biedermeier portraiture at its most accomplished: the countess rendered with the compositional elegance of aristocratic portraiture and the photographic attention to detail that makes the painting an invaluable document of Biedermeier fashion. The 1828 portrait combines precision with elegance.

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Prater Landscape