Erdmann Encke, "portrait Of Young Peasant Girl With Flowers," Oil On Canvas, Signed, 1877

Erdmann Encke, "Portrait of Young Peasant Girl with Flowers," oil on canvas, signed, 1877

Erdmann Encke (1843-1896)

Proposed title: Portrait of Young Peasant Girl with Flowers

Date: 1877

Technique: Oil on canvas

Signature: Signed at left “E. Encke, 1877”

Measurements:

Framed: 85 × 74.5 cm

Canvas only: 58 × 50.5 cm

Artwork description:

In this intense half-length portrait, Erdmann Encke depicts a young woman with delicate features, dressed in traditional folk dress, probably from the German or Alpine area. The work, dated 1877 and signed on the left side, shows the influence of 19th-century German Romantic painting, with a realistic yet poetic rendering.

The female figure, with her absorbed and serene gaze turned toward the viewer, features a long dark braid, a pair of golden earrings, and a bouquet of flowers affixed to her torso.

Erdmann Encke, known primarily as a sculptor, here engages in pictorial work that shows a remarkable sensitivity to human portraiture, giving the model an aura of understated peasant nobility.