Portrait of a young nobleman was executed around 1800 . Due to the very close style and time of creation it was attributed to the hand of Austrian female painter Barbara Krafft , born Steiner ( 1764 Iglau - 1825 Bamberg). For comparison see our last 2 images of Krafft portraits.

In terms of style, Barbara Krafft belonged to sensitivity and classicism. The artist was one of the most sought-after and busiest portrait painters of her time. In the last four years in Bamberg alone, she created 145 portraits. Due to the large number of her pictures, the careful execution is not entirely given in all of them, but according to art connoisseurs, they are wrongly largely forgotten today.

Best known today is her portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which she painted in 1819, 28 years after Mozart´s death, on behalf of Joseph Sonnleithner according to Mozart´s sister Maria Anna and in clear reference to ´the large family painting´, the long Johann Nepomuk della Croce was attributed, which recent research denies. Krafft´s painting is one of the most frequently reproduced portraits of Mozart today.

Barbara Krafft not only created portraits, but also altarpieces and genre scenes that show influences from the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst. According to art experts, her color treatment deserves special attention.

Literature: Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire;Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815-1950 Publisher of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1969;Barbara Krafft nata Steiner. Jihlava 1764-1825 Bamberg. paintings and study sheets. Bamberg: Bamberg Art Association, 1976; artist lexicons by Saur; Thieme/Becker; H.Fuchs.

Inscription: unsigned.

Material: oil on canvas, original period wood frame.

Dimensions: w 9 5/8" x h 12 1/3" (24,5 x 31,5 cm); framed w 13 3/4" x h 16" (35 x 40,7 cm).

Condition: very good.