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Portrait of an Unknown Man

Karl Schweikart

Basic information

ID: Ж-4198
Author: Karl Schweikart
Name: Portrait of an Unknown Man
Date of creation: 19th c.
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 85.5 x 70

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: portraiture
Plot: Portrait
Provenance: Received from the Lubomirski Museum

Information about author

Author: Karl Schweikart
Artist's lifetime: 1772–1855
Country: Germany, Austrian Empire
Biography: Karl Gottlieb Schweikart (February 28, 1772, Ludwigsburg, Germany – April 16, 1855, Ternopil, Ukraine) was an Austrian portrait painter and miniaturist. He was the father of the singer Wilhelmina Skibinska. K. Schweikart's body of work features a broad social spectrum of residents of Lviv, including portraits of the ancient Polish nobility, numerous Austrian military figures, townspeople, and the bourgeoisie. Among his works is the portrait of Franz Xaver Mozart. Schweikart turned to painting early, studying in Stuttgart and Strasbourg from 1787 to 1792. He continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1795. In 1800, the artist went to Prague. In 1807, he travelled to Moscow, Hungary, and Bukovina. From 1802 to 1846, he lived and worked in Lviv. Karl Schweikart married, had a studio, and taught painting lessons here. Between 1810 and 1830, the artist was one of Galicia's most renowned portrait painters. Among his students were Antoni Laub and Korneli Szlegel. In 1846, the artist moved to Sambir, and in 1853, he relocated to Ternopil. It is known that Schweikart kept an accurate record of his works, describing them in a special book, which is now considered lost. According to these records, he created 2,000 portraits. His works are held in the collections of the National Museums in Krakow, Warsaw, and Lviv.

Object description

The work depicts a man in a ¾ turn to the right. He holds a book in his right hand. The silhouette of the 19th-century clothing leans towards the cylindrical outlines of a tall, slender column, in accordance with the Empire style. The dark frock coat with a high-standing collar is adorned with solid golden relief embroidery. The artist painted the portrait of the ideal of manhood of that time: a strong, assertive personality striving for freedom of action and thought, with a subtle smile on his lips and a direct gaze at the viewer. The painting was received into the Gallery's collection with the artist's signature. However, the identity of the portrayed man remains unknown.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Portrait of an Unknown Man

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