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Painting, furniture and works of art from the 17th, 18th and early 19th century
Portrait of a Woman Oils on panel signed M. Stifter top right
Dimensions: 33 x 25 cm
Dimensions with frame: 52 x 46 cm
This bust portrait shows a young noblewoman in right profile, dressed in a sumptuous emerald green velvet gown with gold and pearl embellishments. She wears a wide pearl necklace and a pendant set with a ruby, accompanied by a golden tiara adorned with spectacular stones and feathers (red, white and green), probably a court or ceremonial headdress.
Attire: Fanciful Renaissance style, popular in the 19th century for evoking the European Golden Age. In the late 19th century, it was common for European artists to paint so-called "fantasy" portraits in which women (often anonymous) are depicted as princesses, ladies of the court or idealized figures.
This work is in this vein: it is probably not a real portrait, but rather an imaginary or typological one. Moritz Stifter specialized in this type of decorative and seductive painting, often intended for the Viennese bourgeoisie who appreciated these idealized, luxurious, and nostalgic scenes of an aristocratic past. Biography of Moritz STIFTER The son of an engineer, Moritz Stifter initially chose a military career.
From October 21, 1882, he studied classical painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Carl Theodor von Piloty. When he enrolled, Stifter declared himself to be from Krumau in Bohemia. From 1899, he lived and worked in his studio in Haag, near Neulengbach, in Lower Austria. Moritz Stifter painted almost exclusively beautiful women in seductive poses, often in an oriental setting.
