Artwork
Badende Mädchen
Badende Mädchen is an oil painting by Johann Conrad Zeller. It dates from 1841 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Overview
Johann Conrad Zeller’s *Badende Mädchen*, executed around 1841, is an oil painting that belongs to the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich. The work presents a quiet, intimate scene set in a verdant outdoor environment, rendered with the careful handling characteristic of mid‑19th‑century Swiss painting.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas shows two nude women positioned in a leafy clearing. The figure on the right stands with a bent left leg, while the woman on the left kneels and turns toward her companion. Both have dark hair and are enveloped by surrounding foliage, creating a sense of private communion within nature.
Technique & Style
Zeller employs a layered glazing technique, building up thin, translucent washes to achieve depth of tone and a luminous quality in the skin and foliage. The composition balances detailed rendering of the figures with a softer, atmospheric treatment of the background trees, reflecting the artist’s command of both portraiture and landscape conventions.
History & Provenance
Created in the early 1840s, the painting reflects Zeller’s diverse output, which included landscapes, portraits, historical scenes, and anatomical studies. After its completion it entered the holdings of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it remains part of the museum’s permanent collection, representing the artist’s contribution to Swiss art of the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Johann Konrad Zeller (2 May 1807, Weinegg - 1 March 1856, Weinegg) was a Swiss painter.
