Artwork
Der Maler Heinrich Schwemminger
Der Maler Heinrich Schwemminger is an oil painting by Joseph Hasslwander. It dates from 1855 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1855, this oil on canvas portrait by Joseph Hasslwander is part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The work, titled "Der Maler Heinrich Schwemminger," presents a single figure rendered with a focus on facial features against a softly diffused backdrop.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter is a middle‑aged man with curly hair, a neatly trimmed mustache, and spectacles. He is dressed in a dark jacket over a white shirt, suggesting a professional or artistic identity, though the painting does not include overt symbols that clarify his role beyond the title’s reference to a painter.
Technique & Style
Hasslwinder employs the oil medium to achieve a smooth modeling of the face, allowing subtle gradations of light and shadow. The background is rendered with loose brushwork that recedes, directing the viewer’s attention to the crisply detailed features of the subject’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
History & Provenance
The portrait entered the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s holdings after its acquisition in the early 20th century, where it has remained on public display. Its provenance prior to museum ownership is not extensively documented, but the work is recognized as a representative example of mid‑19th‑century Austrian portraiture.
Context
Painted during a period when Austrian artists were increasingly interested in realistic representation, the piece reflects contemporary tastes for individualized, psychologically nuanced portraiture. The title links the subject to Heinrich Schwemminger, a known painter of the era, situating the work within a network of artistic acquaintances.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
The Artist Just Jerndorff
Portrait of Izydor Dymidowicz
Portrait of Antoni Paszyc, colonel
The Painter Joseph Carl Berthold Püttner
Der Maler Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger
Portret de bărbat
Portrait of a Man
Henry Francis Playter
The Painter Christen Købke
The Architect Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Retrat del moblista Francesc Vidal i Jevellí
Presumed Self Portrait