Magnificent portrait of little noble girl with dog in front of Arcadian landscape was executed in 1858 by renown German portrait, genre, landscape and historical painter of late Biedermeier epoch Edmund Wodick ( 1816 in Markt Alvensleben by Haldensleben - 1886 in Magdeburg). During his lifetime Wodick was one of the most important artists in Magdeburg and also earned great merit for the cultural and social life of the city through his extraordinary commitment. Similar work by the same artist see under our item No. 6016. Wodick's two daughters Alma and Ella could be the age of the portrayed. On the other hand, years earlier, Wodick accompanied the Wedemeyer family in the trips to Italy and Spain, the coat of arms shown on the left of the picture on the pillar could perhaps be an informative clue here.

The father of the artist was a decorative painter who gave him his first lessons. After attending the Arts and Crafts school in Magdeburg, he was apprenticed to a lithographer. Before he had completed his training, the music publisher, Wilhelm von Heinrichshofen (1782-1881), a distant relative, helped him to enroll at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and study with Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow. He was there from 1837 to 1841. Karl Ferdinand Sohn and Rudolf Wiegmann were also among his instructors. Following graduation, he embarked on the "Grand Tour", beginning with Paris. While there, he took evening classes from Paul Delaroche and made copies at the Louvre. In 1842, he took part in an exhibition at the Salon. Following that, he visited Switzerland and Northern Italy, finally making his way to Rome, where he spent a year and a half, making sketches and studying the sculptures. He also worked as a portraitist, receiving orders from King Ludwwig I and Prince Henry of Prussia. After leaving Rome, he toured Spain and visited Morocco. While in Madrid, he became acquainted with José de Madrazo, Director of the Museo del Prado. He returned to Magdeburg by way of France in 1846, married his childhood sweetheart, and opened a studio which became a meeting place for artists, writers and theatrical performers. His works from this period are largely Spanish and Orientalist in theme. Later, he established himself as a portrait painter. His sitters included many local businessmen, clergy and politicians as well as King (later, Kaiser) Wilhelm I, although that portrait was lost and is now known only through a copper engraving. He was a member of numerous art societies and, in 1859, founded "Athene", an association for "art, science and humor". During the 1860s and 1870s, he travelled throughout and made lengthy stays in the mountains of Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland (notably the Harz Region), filling sketchbooks with drawings and watercolors. Two years after his wife's death in 1884, he succumbed to complications following a bout with pneumonia. Many of his works were lost during the two world wars, but an extensive collection still exists at the Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg. Provenience: collection of Mr. Holger Griepentrog, Demold, by Wuppertal, Germany. Literature: monography by Matthias Puhle (in German)"Edmund Wodick.Ein Magdeburger Maler des späten Biedermeier",march 2011; Thieme-Becker " Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler" 1999 ; Nagler "Kuenstler Lexikon"; R.Wiegmann " Die Königliche Kunstakademie zu Duesseldorf " 1856 ; Singer " Allgem. Künstlerlexikon ", F.Noack " Deutschtum in Rom", 1927. Inscription: signed and dated 1858, middle right. Technique: oil on canvas..Magnificent original period gilt frame. Measurements: image w 35" x h 44 1/2" (89 x 113 cm); framed w 44 7/8" x h 55 1/3" (114 x 140,5 cm). Condition: in very good condition