(Atzgersdorf 1832–1889 Vienna) Mathilde, the Artist’s Second Daughter, signed and inscribed A. Romako a Roma, oil on canvas, 43.5 x 35 cm, framed, (Rei)

We are grateful to Dr Cornelia Reiter for her assistance in cataloguing this work. Mathilde, the artist’s second daughter, is portrayed before a neutral, smooth brown background, looking directly at the observer. The dark, over-sized eyes - a characteristic feature of Romako‘s - are particularly expressive and captivating. The lips and nose are strongly curved. In form the girl appears still childlike, yet she radiates a certain seriousness. She holds flowers in her hands, and a staff decorated with flowers, a blue ribbon and a shell. The white dress, which the artist has delicately gradated with yellow, blue and grey tones, lends a spring-like, almost summery air, only gently lifted against the pale, flesh-like tones of the girl, but in stark contrast to the dark black hair. Generally Romako has limited his palette here to a few clear main colours, working mainly with sophisticated contrasts which lend the girl an almost monumental appearance and allow her to emerge from the picture. The lips, face, fingers and arm are almost voluptuously rounded and step forward, out from the secretive shadows. The depth of the shadows bordering the light forms is a particular characteristic of Romako’s. The dark background becomes a secret and immeasurable empty space. Romako has, however, used the effect of illumination, in the sense of rendering light, relatively cautiously. The transitions are vague and intentionally blurred. (Fritz Novotny, Der Maler Anton Romako 1832–1889, Vienna Munich 1954, p.26,32). Romako visited Italy twice; from 1854 to 1855 and from 1857 to 1876. This second period spent in Italy represented an important phase in his life: he enjoyed his first success and by 1860 Romako had become a well-known and valued painter with a large audience. Romako married in Italy and fathered five children - Rudolph, Luise, Julie, Mathilde and Mary. (Novotny, p. 15, 17). Our picture is inscribed “a Roma” and was probably painted during Romako‘s second period in Italy (1857–1876). Mathilde, the daughter shown here, committed suicide in 1887 aged nineteen. The childlike appearance of the girl suggests a date during the first half of the 1870’s. This dating is also supported by the graphic element which over the course of the 1870’s became increasingly predominant but here is still lacking, or rather is subordinate. A quaint naturalism is pre-eminent. Compare: Fritz Novotny, Der Maler Anton Romako 1832–1889,Wien München 1954: “Mädchen mit Fliederstrauß”, Anfang der 70er Jahre, cat. no.202, plate 11; “Die Geschwister “Bee” and Ernest Makin auf der Schaukel”, 1873, cat. no. 183, plate 6 “Bauernmädchen mit Brotkörbchen und Alpenblumen”, 1877, cat. no. 225, plate 18. Provenance: Private English property.