Alois Von Anreiter – Presumed Portrait Of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, Miniature

Alois von Anreiter (1803–1882), after Moritz Michael Daffinger – Portrait of a Young Woman, probably Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna – 1848

A very fine Austrian portrait miniature in watercolour and gouache by Alois von Anreiter (Bolzano, 1803 – Vienna, 1882), signed and dated on the right, beneath the mount: “Anreiter 848” [1848].

The miniature is Anreiter’s version of a composition by Moritz Michael Daffinger (1790–1849), the most celebrated Viennese miniaturist of his generation. Anreiter perfected his art under Daffinger, whose work had a decisive influence on his own development as a portrait miniaturist.

The original composition by Daffinger has been identified through an early photograph published in the catalogue of the sale held in Vienna by C. J. Wawra and Albert Werner on 26 November 1925, where it appeared as lot 238, illustrated on plate XL.

The catalogue describes the work as a young lady dressed in white with lace, wearing a white ruff around her neck and a tulle bonnet tied beneath the chin, with a red rose in her hair. It is recorded as a miniature on ivory by M. M. Daffinger.

The photograph published in 1925 clearly establishes the relationship between Daffinger’s composition and the present miniature by Anreiter: the same physiognomy, tulle bonnet decorated with a rose, broad lace collar and general arrangement of the costume are immediately recognisable.

The sitter has been tentatively proposed as Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (1788–1819), who was present in Vienna during the period of the Congress of Vienna. This identification should, however, remain hypothetical, since the 1925 catalogue describes the sitter simply as a “young lady”.

Executed by Anreiter in 1848, the present miniature is distinguished by the exceptionally accomplished quality of its painting. The softly modelled face, rendered with remarkable delicacy, contrasts with the extraordinarily free and virtuoso handling of the white fabrics.

Particularly striking is Anreiter’s treatment of the lace and the transparent material of the bonnet. Minute touches of white, at times appearing almost lightly scattered across the surface, create an extraordinary impression of transparency and weightlessness. This virtuoso handling recalls the great tradition of Viennese miniature painting, from Heinrich Friedrich Füger to Daffinger, while retaining Anreiter’s own refined sensibility.

The miniature therefore provides a particularly interesting example of the transmission of compositions and techniques within the great Viennese school of miniature painting during the nineteenth century: a composition by Daffinger interpreted several decades later by an artist directly influenced by his art.

Watercolour and gouache under convex glass
Gilt-copper mount
Signed and dated on the right, beneath the mount: “Anreiter 848” [1848]
Miniature: 75 × 60 mm
Vienna, 1848

Reference: Versteigerung einer hervorragenden Sammlung, C. J. Wawra / Albert Werner, Vienna, 26 November 1925, lot 238, illustrated pl. XL.

We would like to express our warmest thanks to Dr Bodo Hofstetter for his invaluable assistance in the study of this miniature and, in particular, for identifying the original composition by Moritz Michael Daffinger.