(Vienna 1803–1887)
Portrait of a young girl in profile with bands in her hair, signed, dated by another hand Fr. Ammerling 1865, on the reverse label of the auction house C. J. Wawra 409, Fr. Amerling, oil on canvas, 79 x 64 cm, craquelure, (Rei)

Provenance:
Sale Wawra, Vienna 17 March 1913, lot 4;
Mary Cahn-Speyer (1893–1953) Collection, Vienna/London until 1938;
1938 Führermuseum Linz (inv. no. 548);
1941 transfer to Kremsmünster (K no. 333);
1943 Bad Aussee salt mine (no. 1417);
1949 Deutsche Kulturgutverwaltung, Munich;
From 2 September 1966 onwards on loan (inv. no.: loan BRD / L 77) to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel (today Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel);
Restitution to the heirs after Mary Cahn-Speyer on 18 January 2018.

Catalogued in:
Günther Probszt, Friedrich von Amerling, der Altmeister der Wiener Portraitmalerei, Zurich/Leipzig/Vienna 1927, p. 163, no. 1305.

Friedrich Amerling joined the Vienna Academy in as early as 1815, where he first received an education in the engraving class of Josef Klieber before entering a drawing class a year later. His studies led him to the Prague Academy from 1824 to 1826, and in 1827 he sojourned in London, where he made the acquaintance of the famous portrait painter, Sir Thomas Lawrence. For his painting ‘Dido auf dem Scheiterhaufen’, Amerling was awarded the Reichel Prize in 1829 by the Vienna Academy. Numerous trips throughout Europe and the Middle East ensued. The artist is considered one of the main representatives of Viennese Biedermeier.
Although he created some landscapes at the beginning of his career, his main focus was always on portraiture. His portraits, in which he especially preferred female models, appeal to the viewer, especially through their atmospheric and psychologising rendering. He models the complexion with soft colours and subtle gradations. Facial expressions and gestures, on the other hand, are emphasised by light and shadow effects. Amerling’s portrayals of women never seem unified; he always endeavours to capture the essence of the sitter.