(Vienna 1793–1865) The Love Letter, signed, dated Waldmüller 1849 (on the letter), oil on canvas, 76 x 61.5 cm, framed, (Rei)

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Rupert Feuchtmüller, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Leben-Schriften-Werke, published by Christian Brandstätter, Vienna 1996, p. 497, CR no. 797.

Letter of authentication issued by Prof. Dr. Rupert Feuchtmüller, dated 4 March 1980, available.

Provenance:
Galerie Nissl, Eschen, Liechtenstein;
627th Art Auction, Dorotheum Vienna, 11 March 1980, lot 154, plate XLIX;
Private property, Vienna since 1980.

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller irregularly attended the Vienna Academy where he was a student of Johann Baptist Lampi, among others. The young artist first made his living as a miniaturist, and later as a scene-painter in the theatre. From 1817 Josef Lange instructed him in oil painting, and Johann Nepomuk Schödlberger in landscape painting. From 1825 he began actively travelling, mostly to Italy. In addition to portraits, he increasingly painted landscapes. After preferring studies of nature to copying the Old Masters, Waldmüller increasingly came into conflict with the Academy where he had been curator and given private lessons since 1829. He also argued for his method of teaching in contrast to the historicised mode in the pamphlet “Proposals for the reform of the Austrian Imperial Academy of Fine Art” published in 1849. (Cf. Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Vol. 35, Leipzig 1942, p. 74-75).
This was the year in which he painted The Love Letter. Two young women are absorbed in reading a letter. The girl in red observes her friend’s emotions and has placed her hand affectionately on her shoulder. The reader’s garment has slipped and exposes her right shoulder. The two young women are surrounded by darkness; only a candle they hold in front of the letter affords any light. The candlelight produces a completely charming effect and creates a warm, golden atmosphere. Waldmüller paints the concealed light source shining through the paper with great virtuosity. The light lends the figures solidity, giving them a sculptural appearance. The compact composition is staged in a theatrical manner, with the faces and emotions of the women the central focus. As is typical of Waldmüller, he stresses the narrative moment as well as his extreme subtlety and the material presence of his subjects.