A PAIR OF PORTRAITS OF HUSBAND AND WIFE

With an églomisé mirror, fancy-painted Windsor chair and elaborate wallpaper and flooring the present lot is a superb example of Maentel’s interior scenes, which were painted in the middle part of his career, c. 1815-1825. These interiors are a “window into homes of [his] community and the lives of its people” (Stacy C. Hollander, American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2000), p. 379). Every surface is colorfully decorated allowing the black-clad couple to stand out in the foreground. The artist uses a variety of techniques in these works including fine strokes for facial details and heavier washes of color for the background. The separate portraits of the couple are almost symmetrical and appear as one continuous scene when put together. In order to showcase the fine furniture and decorative elements within these compositions, he manipulates the furniture to slightly unnatural angles. These portraits also feature small shadows which are charateristic of Maentel's work. For a similar example see the portraits of Maria Rex Zimmerman and Peter Zimmerman in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum (acc. 2013.1.6).