(Munich 1850–1920 Ohlstedt) Representative Portrait of a Lady with Yellow Roses, Sitting on a Park Bench, signed F. A. v. Kaulbach, oil on canvas, 172 x 114 cm, framed, (Rei)

According to tradition, the sitter is believed to be a member of the Romanoff or Leuchtenberg family. Friedrich August von Kaulbach: The artist’s talent became obvious at a very early age. After studying at the school of graphic and applied art in Nuremberg for several years under Kreling and Raupp, he painted for two years under the guidance of his father before moving to Munich in 1871. During 1873 and 1874 he travelled to Italy. These excursions were followed by further travels: These included a visit to Antwerp with his friends Lenbach, Makart and Gedon, and annual stays in Paris. He settled in Munich from 1886 onwards where he became the successor to Theodor v. Pilotys as Director of the Munich Academy. Kaulbach’s earliest works, genre paintings and figures in old traditional German costume, were influenced on the one hand by the impressions he gained in medieval Nuremberg and on the other by the current trends of his day, chiefly the new delight being taken in the German Renaissance whose main standard bearers in Munich were the artists Seidl and Gedon. However, it was for his portraits that Kaulbach became best known. His light and elegant style, paired with a confident, decorative sense, brought him early success and assured him 40 years of favour at court. It was the aristocratic ladies of the courts in particular who delighted in being portrayed by Kaulbach, who always depicted them as calm and beautiful. (Compare Thieme Becker, Künstlerlexikon, Leipzig 1927, XX. Volume, p.20)