Pomona

In Roman mythology, Pomona was the goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards. Her name comes from the Latin word, pomun, which translates as fruit. She scorned the love of Silvanus and Picus but married Vertumnus after he tricked her, disguised as an old woman. Her high priest was called the Flamen Pomonalis. The pruning knife was her insignia. She is a uniquely Roman goddess, never identitified with any Greek counterpart, and was particularly associated with the blossoming of trees as opposed to the harvest.

According to the labels on the reverse, this painting may have been exhibited in the Hamburger Kunstverein and the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

Friedrich August von Kaulbach was the son of the famous Friedrich Kaulbach. He studied art in Nurnberg, a pupil of Kreling and Raupp. He then studied for two years with his father. In 1871 he moved to Munich and in 1873 and 1874 spent long periods in Italy, studying mainly Venetian painting. Together with his friends Lenbach, Makart, Gedon and Hecht, Kaulbach visited in the Rubens Festival in Antwerp in 1877. In 1883-85 the artist spent much time in Paris and in 1886 he became Director of the Munich Academy, receiving recognition from Prince Regent of Bavaria. From 1883 he was a member of the Berlin Academy. Works by Kaulbach can be seen in the greatest German and international museums.