拍品专文
The present work was executed in 1841, a period during of Grimschitz believes that 'the flower and fruit compositions of these years reveal the full mastery of Waldmüller's skills, in that in the flower still-lifes ... artistic heights are achieved, which in his later years Waldmüller is not able to match.' (op. cit., p. 59).
By 1841, Waldmüller had become an accomplished and respected artist in Vienna, enjoying opportunities to study the vast tradition of flower painting. Following the death of his father in 1806, the young artist left his parental home to enter the Academy and receive private tuition in still-life drawing. Amongst his earliest known oil paintings are copies after works by the Dutch seventeenth century painters Jan van Huysum and Rachel Ruysch, which hung in the numerous royal collections open to the Viennese public (Koja in the catalogue of the exhibition, Ein Blumenstrauss für Waldmüller; Stilleben Ferdinand George Waldmüllers und seiner Zeit, Österreichische Galerie im oberen Belvedere, Vienna, 10 March-31 May 1993, p. 7). In 1829, by which time Waldmüller had very much begun to establish his own distinct style, he was appointed custodian of the Lamberg-Sprinzenstein Collection, housed in the Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der Bildenden Künste, which included Dutch seventeenth century flower paintings and enabled him to observe and study the genre of which he was so fond.
Popularity in flower painting had reached new heights in Vienna during the Biedermeier period. At the turn of the century, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna was amongst the first German-speaking institutions devoted to the study of the arts, where the emphasis on learning continued to be very much in a classicist vein and the artistic heritage of the Dutch and Flemish masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was highly regarded (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 72). Furthermore, the newly established Kunstschule der Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur, with Konrad von Sorgenthal as its director and Johann Baptist Drechsler as its first and principal teacher, encouraged a new breed of young artists to set in motion the renewed interest in flower painting, which was to become a thriving industry during this period (Koja, op. cit., p. 8).
Nonetheless, much of the creative output in this area was relatively formulaic, especially porcelain painting which, by its very nature, was more restrictive. Many of the students at the Akademie and the Kunstschule were too set on recreating the work of their Dutch seventeenth century predecessors. Waldmüller, however, was amongst the most notable to move beyond these confines whilst remaining faithful to the genre and thereby creating more compelling and dynamic compositions as Mädchen, einen Brief lesend, clearly illustrates.
Most striking is the manner in which Waldmüller draws the viewer into the composition which is achieved by the dramatic use of light. It draws the viewer from one facet of the composition to the next and creates a sense of intimacy, as well as adding an element of theatricality (Schröder, op. cit., p. 149). The light source draws the viewer's gaze first to the white marble putti (probably by the French sculptor, Pierre Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), whose work was exhibited in the Hofburg in Vienna), then on to the vibrant flower arrangement, the letter held in the girl's hands and, finally, to the bemused and intrigued faces of the girls. This creates a dialogue between the still-life arrangement of the foreground and the iconographical content of the composition as a whole; the theme of love and amorous pursuit reflected in the relationship between the putti and the girls in the background, as well as the inherent content of the letter. Indeed, Waldmüller would have been familiar with the subject of women reading, which had long been a favourite theme explored by artists, particularly from Vermeer's Brieflesendes Mädchen am offenen Fenster which he admired during his visit to Dresden in 1827 (Schröder, loc. cit.).
It is through these visual means that we are invited to witness this private and intimate moment. The still-life composition is somewhat truncated and the faintest traces of objects or a possible painting can be seen in the depths of the darkened background, as if the viewer is an incidental passer-by. At the same time, we are made aware of the highly contrived and theatrical aspect of the work; the strategic positioning of the marble ledge in the foreground and the dramatic red damask curtain, placed in such a way as to create the most effective lighting. In the present work, the viewer is presented with a timeless image; the flowers are at their peak and show no signs of wilting and the painstaking, faithful attention to detail in all facets of the composition create for an almost photographic immediacy (Koja, op. cit., p. 25). The latter is particularly significant throughout Waldmüller's oeuvre, for whom verisimilitude was quintessential in artistic integrity and talent.
Throughout his career Waldmüller struggled with financial stability and, perhaps more than any artist of his era, he was aware of the commercial viability of his art. Works such as Mädchen, einen Brief lesend were, indeed, highly desirable and he surpassed many of his contemporaries also working in this genre. Works as ambitious as this, however, were rare, particularly on this scale, and after 1841 Waldmüller seldom ventured into the genre of still-life painting. This may possibly have been as a result of the early success of his gifted pupil Rosalia Amon, whose flower painting was very well received and who quickly became a successful flower painter in her own right. A more likely explanation, however, is that the flower paintings of this period were the ones in which he had achieved the peak of his artistic career. Grimschitz has termed it the artist's Naturwahrheit ('Nature-truthfullness') (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 59); the representation of nature as he saw it rather than a complex, introspective interpretation of its inner forces. Waldmüller himself expressed it as 'The task of any artistic endeavour will only be fulfilled on the path to Truth. Nature is the eternal truth; in its appearances, its forms, nothing is ever the same.' (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 90).
By 1841, Waldmüller had become an accomplished and respected artist in Vienna, enjoying opportunities to study the vast tradition of flower painting. Following the death of his father in 1806, the young artist left his parental home to enter the Academy and receive private tuition in still-life drawing. Amongst his earliest known oil paintings are copies after works by the Dutch seventeenth century painters Jan van Huysum and Rachel Ruysch, which hung in the numerous royal collections open to the Viennese public (Koja in the catalogue of the exhibition, Ein Blumenstrauss für Waldmüller; Stilleben Ferdinand George Waldmüllers und seiner Zeit, Österreichische Galerie im oberen Belvedere, Vienna, 10 March-31 May 1993, p. 7). In 1829, by which time Waldmüller had very much begun to establish his own distinct style, he was appointed custodian of the Lamberg-Sprinzenstein Collection, housed in the Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der Bildenden Künste, which included Dutch seventeenth century flower paintings and enabled him to observe and study the genre of which he was so fond.
Popularity in flower painting had reached new heights in Vienna during the Biedermeier period. At the turn of the century, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna was amongst the first German-speaking institutions devoted to the study of the arts, where the emphasis on learning continued to be very much in a classicist vein and the artistic heritage of the Dutch and Flemish masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was highly regarded (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 72). Furthermore, the newly established Kunstschule der Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur, with Konrad von Sorgenthal as its director and Johann Baptist Drechsler as its first and principal teacher, encouraged a new breed of young artists to set in motion the renewed interest in flower painting, which was to become a thriving industry during this period (Koja, op. cit., p. 8).
Nonetheless, much of the creative output in this area was relatively formulaic, especially porcelain painting which, by its very nature, was more restrictive. Many of the students at the Akademie and the Kunstschule were too set on recreating the work of their Dutch seventeenth century predecessors. Waldmüller, however, was amongst the most notable to move beyond these confines whilst remaining faithful to the genre and thereby creating more compelling and dynamic compositions as Mädchen, einen Brief lesend, clearly illustrates.
Most striking is the manner in which Waldmüller draws the viewer into the composition which is achieved by the dramatic use of light. It draws the viewer from one facet of the composition to the next and creates a sense of intimacy, as well as adding an element of theatricality (Schröder, op. cit., p. 149). The light source draws the viewer's gaze first to the white marble putti (probably by the French sculptor, Pierre Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), whose work was exhibited in the Hofburg in Vienna), then on to the vibrant flower arrangement, the letter held in the girl's hands and, finally, to the bemused and intrigued faces of the girls. This creates a dialogue between the still-life arrangement of the foreground and the iconographical content of the composition as a whole; the theme of love and amorous pursuit reflected in the relationship between the putti and the girls in the background, as well as the inherent content of the letter. Indeed, Waldmüller would have been familiar with the subject of women reading, which had long been a favourite theme explored by artists, particularly from Vermeer's Brieflesendes Mädchen am offenen Fenster which he admired during his visit to Dresden in 1827 (Schröder, loc. cit.).
It is through these visual means that we are invited to witness this private and intimate moment. The still-life composition is somewhat truncated and the faintest traces of objects or a possible painting can be seen in the depths of the darkened background, as if the viewer is an incidental passer-by. At the same time, we are made aware of the highly contrived and theatrical aspect of the work; the strategic positioning of the marble ledge in the foreground and the dramatic red damask curtain, placed in such a way as to create the most effective lighting. In the present work, the viewer is presented with a timeless image; the flowers are at their peak and show no signs of wilting and the painstaking, faithful attention to detail in all facets of the composition create for an almost photographic immediacy (Koja, op. cit., p. 25). The latter is particularly significant throughout Waldmüller's oeuvre, for whom verisimilitude was quintessential in artistic integrity and talent.
Throughout his career Waldmüller struggled with financial stability and, perhaps more than any artist of his era, he was aware of the commercial viability of his art. Works such as Mädchen, einen Brief lesend were, indeed, highly desirable and he surpassed many of his contemporaries also working in this genre. Works as ambitious as this, however, were rare, particularly on this scale, and after 1841 Waldmüller seldom ventured into the genre of still-life painting. This may possibly have been as a result of the early success of his gifted pupil Rosalia Amon, whose flower painting was very well received and who quickly became a successful flower painter in her own right. A more likely explanation, however, is that the flower paintings of this period were the ones in which he had achieved the peak of his artistic career. Grimschitz has termed it the artist's Naturwahrheit ('Nature-truthfullness') (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 59); the representation of nature as he saw it rather than a complex, introspective interpretation of its inner forces. Waldmüller himself expressed it as 'The task of any artistic endeavour will only be fulfilled on the path to Truth. Nature is the eternal truth; in its appearances, its forms, nothing is ever the same.' (Grimschitz, op. cit., p. 90).