The Artist Jeanna Bauck

Bertha Wegmann (1847 - 1926)

Artist/Maker

Artist: Bertha Wegmann (1847 - 1926)

DatesSigned: Signed 1881

Material / Technique

Oil on canvas

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 106 x 85 cm h x w x d: Ram 116 x 95 x 6 cm

Inventory numberNM 2828

AcqusitionGift 1930 Ms Toni Agnes Möller-Wegmann

Other titlesTitle (sv): Konstnären Jeanna Bauck Title (en): The Artist Jeanna Bauck Inventory title (sv): Porträtt av målarinnan Jeanna Bauck

DescriptionDescription: In Paris, Bertha Wegmann painted this informal and sensitive portrait of Jeanna Bauck sitting on a table with a book in her hand. Next to the artist is a palette and brushes. The light falls in from the studio window, illuminating her curly hair. The forward-leaning pose contributes to the strong presence of the sitter and creates a sense of intimacy. The painting was awarded an honorable mention at the Paris Salon in 1881 and marked Wegmann’s breakthrough as a portraitist.

Exhibited

Nationalmuseum -> Room 1434 1870-1900

Depicted Person

Jeanna Bauck (1840 - 1926)

Motif categoryPortrait

Collection

Paintings (Paintings)

MaterialDuk, Oil paint

TechniquePainting

Object category

painting

Keyword

Porträtt

Additional texteDescription: Wegmann grew up in Denmark and trained as an artist in Munich, where she became friends with the Swedish painter Jeanna Bauck (1840–1926). They both moved to Paris in 1881, the year that this informal portrait of Bauck, sitting on a table with a book in her hand, was painted. The light enters through the studio window behind her, illuminating her blonde hair. Next to her lies a palette and some brushes. Wegmann created around 20 portraits of Jeanna Bauck – and Bauck in turn painted Wegmann several times. Description: Jeanna Bauck meets the viewer’s gaze, in a portrait that conveys a strong sense of her presence. She is shown as a professional woman, of value in her own right. Bertha Wegmann combines the free, independent female ideal of the period with elegant middle-class femininity. The artist Bauck has her professional attributes by her side: brushes, palette and painting rags. She holds a book, symbolising her position as an intellectual. Behind her, through the window, we can make out the rooftops of Paris.