Brave Fine Art has dated this 19th Century Genre Painting to the 1860s.
The painting is a celebration of contrasts. The interior is warm, intimate and softly shadowed, furnished with sturdy country furniture and the familiar objects of daily life. While beyond, the open casement lies a world of fresh air, blossom and sunshine. Kaltenmoser uses the window as a bridge between two worlds - duty and imagination, the familiar present and the unknown future.
Although the young woman appears occupied with her sewing, her attention has clearly wandered. Her needle is held almost absent-mindedly as she watches two butterflies dancing in the sunlight. During the 19th century, butterflies often carried associations with love, transformation and the fleeting nature of youth. It's tempting to imagine that, for a brief moment, they have interrupted her work and carried her thoughts elsewhere. Perhaps she's wondering what lies ahead - courtship, marriage or the home she may one day create for herself? Kaltenmoser allows the viewer to complete their own version of the story.
The artist's technical accomplishment is equally impressive. The crisp linen catching the light, the delicate transparency of the window curtain, the worn timber of the farmhouse interior and the soft modelling of the young woman's face all demonstrate the careful academic training he received under his father before entering the Munich Academy.
More than 150 years later, this painting continues to charm. The sewing will no doubt resume in a moment, yet for now there is sunshine on the windowsill, butterflies in the garden, and just enough time to dream.
Signed/dated and held in a later gilt frame.
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Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 22½” x 27½” / 58cm x 70cm
Year of creation: 1867
Provenance: Private collection, Austria.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame in excellent condition.
Artist’s auction maximum: £15,200 achieved in 1995 for ‘A Game of Dice’.
Our reference: BRV2363
Brave Fine Art has dated this 19th Century Genre Painting to the 1860s.
Exquisite antique paintings that capture the imagination.
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Max Kaltenmoser, a Girl Sewing by a Window - Antique Oil Painting
