Gustav Wertheimer

GUSTAV WERTHEIRMER (Vienna, 1847- Paris, 1902).
"The first herrings".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the upper left corner.
Period frame with some lack. Slight lack of paint on the board.
Measurements: 61 x 49 cm; 87 x 76 cm (frame).

An intimate portrait immortalizes a fisherman father showing his daughter the herring caught during the day. The little girl holds a few in her hands while vividly observing the viewer. The rapport between the two figures is evident in the gaze that the father directs to his daughter, as well as in the affectionate posture in which they both melt into each other. The tanned and brown skin of the fisherman contrasts with the white and pale complexion of the girl.

An Austrian genre painter active mainly in Paris, Gustav Wertheimer trained with Joseph von Führich at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1863 to 1867, and with Wilhelm von Dietz at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1882 he moved to Paris, where he achieved his greatest success. "Lions Eating at Nipple," exhibited at the 1886 Salon, received special attention. Throughout his career as an artist he received numerous honorable mentions at the Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. Wertheimer received medals at exhibitions in Amsterdam, London, New Orleans and Paris. A portrait of Emilia Pardo Bazán is currently kept in the novelist's house museum.