From The Prof. Ullmann Collection, Vienna: "portrait Of Fj Beschorz By Josef Grassi (1755-1838)

A masterfully miniature on ivory from the early 19th century, signed in the middle right corner of the edge (the signature is partially effaced, but "J. Grassi" is clearly legible). On the reverse are two old collector's inscriptions in German: 1. on the front: "J. Grassi (1757-1838), Miniature Portrait of an Actor at the Dresden Court" and 2. on the back: "J. Grassi, 1806 Dresden" (in pen) and, below, in ink: "Fried. Jonas Beschorz, born in 1767, died in 1841, from 1790 to 1837, at the Berlin Court Theatre."
All these inscriptions are visible in our photographs.
The quality, style, and presence of the signature/inscriptions allow us to state with certainty that this is a rare miniature by the renowned Austro-German Neoclassical portraitist Josef Grassi.

Josef (Giuseppe) Grassi was born around 1758 into an Italian family. Grassi, who had lived in Vienna since the 17th century, began his studies at the Vienna Academy in 1768, at the age of ten. He quickly achieved great success there, particularly among women, as a talented portraitist, miniaturist, and later as a painter of large oil portraits. In 1791, he was admitted as a member of the Vienna Academy for his portraits. Also in 1790, he settled in Poland. In Warsaw, on the recommendation of J.-B. Lampi, he obtained the position of court painter to King Stanisław August II of Poland. In 1793, upon Lampi's return to Vienna, Grassi became the favorite portrait painter of the Polish court and high aristocracy. The year 1797 marked his first visit to Sagan Castle in Silesia (now in the Czech Republic). He subsequently stayed there on several occasions. The Duchess of Sagan is said to have played a decisive role in securing commissions and the title of professor at the Academy (1800) in Dresden, where he taught alongside Anton Graff. In the following years, the artist spent a year in Gotha, and then, from 1808 to 1820, lived in Rome, where he enjoyed great popularity. From 1821 onward, he returned to Dresden, leading a reclusive life without an official position. He died there in 1838.

Provenance: Collection of Professor Dr. E. Ullmann, Vienna.
Bibliography: Thieme/Becker, "Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künsler…", Leipzig, 1999; Professor H. Fuchs, "Austrian Miniature Artists" (in German), Vienna, 1975.
Inscription: Signed in the middle right, on the edge: "J. Grassi". On the reverse: two old inscriptions in German mentioning the names of the painter and the model.
Technique: Gouache on ivory. Original period frame.
Dimensions: unframed, width 5.2 cm x height 6.3 cm; with frame, width 10 cm x height 12 cm.
Condition: good condition, without cracks or restorations; the signature is partially obscured by the edge of the frame.