Neoclassical Portrait Of The Woman In Clothes By Muse. Entourage Of Joseph Maria Grassi

Neoclassical Portrait of the Woman in Clothes by Muse (Early 19th Century).
Oval portrait with the period frame.
Entourage of Joseph Maria Grassi (1757-1838).
Portrait of lady which resemblance to a Greek muse recalls antiquity and idealisation.
An oval portrait, like an ancient medallion, depicts a woman wrapped in empire clothes.
The atmosphere of the painting is steeped in nostalgia and contemplation. The soft light illuminates his face, while the waves of the sea shatter on the rocks in the distance. The woman seems immersed in her thoughts, perhaps reflecting on the loss of a loved one.
The black veil suggests a sense of melancholy and regret.
Painting close in style, subject and technique to Joseph Maria Grassi, the Austrian painter known for his portraits . In her portraits, women are often represented in an idealised way, with delicate features, smooth and perfect skin. Particular attention was paid to the tarms: the hair is combed elaborately, according to a taste that wants to imitate Ancient Greece.


About Joseph Grassi

We thank the art historian Wladislav Maximowicz for his kind advice and generous help in the attribution of the painting.
 
Joseph Maria Grassi, the renowned Austrian painter, was born in Vienna on April 22, 1757 and died in Dresden on January 7, 1838. His art, with a neoclassical touch, gave us sensitive portraits and an intimate vision of beauty and melancholy.
In Warsaw, Grassi became a teacher of Teresa Jabłonowska, a descendant of Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski, and asserted himself as a prized portraitist. During the Kościuszko Insurrection in 1794, he managed to leave the battle zone thanks to the mediation of Kościuszko, whose portrait he had painted. In 1799, he was appointed professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.
During his career, Grassi also worked in Gotha and Rome, where he was a member of the Academy of San Luca.