Female Portrait

Joseph Grassi

Basic information

ID: Г-III-4
Author: Joseph Grassi
Name: Female Portrait
Date of creation: 1790s
Technique: painting
Material: ivory gouache
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 6 x 4.6

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: portraiture
Provenance: Purchased from the antiques dealer S. Schwartz for the collection of Wladyslaw Lozinski on April 20, 1910. From 1914, it became part of the Gallery collection.

Information about author

Author: Joseph Grassi
Artist's lifetime: 1758–1838
Country: Austria
Biography: Being a ten-year-old boy, Joseph Grassi began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He quickly gained popularity as a portrait painter and miniaturist. In 1791, he became a member of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Between 1792 and 1797 through J. B. Lampi’s influence, he stayed in Warsaw and became a court artist of S. A. Poniatowski. In 1800, he was appointed a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden. Between 1808 and 1820, he lived and worked in Rome, and from 1821 until his death, he lived in Dresden.

Object description

The miniature represents a waist-length image of a woman; she is turned three quarters to the viewer’s left. The face with dark expressive eyes is directed at the viewer. The dress is decorated on the chest with a white transparent scarf in accordance with the 1790s fashion. On the reverse of it and on the backing paper there is the inscription Siermontowska. On the lining that is covered with silk, there is the inscription Siermontowska. The frame is bronze.

Inscriptions

At the bottom left there is an author's inscription "J. Grassi fecit" written in ink

Portrayed person