186. Portrait of a Noblewoman [1879]

Being open to various art forms - painting on an easel, lithography, or photography - the artist Szathmari became the witness of the most important events in his age. His interest in history, in man and nature, his shrewd spirit for observation, would convert Szathmari into a remarkable painter and photographer of reality. A passionate traveller, animated by a Romantic spirit, the artist travelled in his wanderings, through Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Persia, reaching the Kingdom of Romania, where he was drawn by the picturesque places and by the people. He settled in Bucharest around the year 1843, and soon became a close friend of the royal court. He worked for the ruler brothers Bibescu/Știrbei, he became painter and photographer for the ruler Cuza, and after 1866 he became a close friend of the Royal House, as official artist. The year 1886 marked the start of Prince Carol’s reign in Romania, who kept Szathmari in his service, initiating an important relation between the artist and the royal court.

References

IPATE, Mihail, Albumul expoziției „Carol Popp de Szathmari. Pictor și fotograf”, Ed. Muzeului Național Cotroceni, București, 2012.

Dimensions

width 55.5 cm, height 68.5 cm, custom 68,5 × 55,5 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed and dated left side, with red, "Szathmari, 1879"

Dating

1879

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