The Countess

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, The Countess, 1838, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.44
Copied Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, The Countess, 1838, oil on canvas, 34 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄8 in. (88.0 x 69.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.44
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Countess
Artist
Date
1838
Location
Dimensions
34 5⁄8 x 27 1⁄8 in. (88.0 x 69.0 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — other — aristocrat
  • Figure female — waist length
Object Number
1979.44
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1979.44

Artwork Description

In The Countess, Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze concentrated on capturing the handsome and serious features of his sitter; the unfinished, sketchy treatment and outlines of hands show the artist working out the details of his composition. Leutze was an itinerant portraitist in 1838, and the inscription below the portrait reveals that he painted this work either in a friend’s studio or a rented space. The painting’s rich brushwork and colors reflect the style of two popular portraitists in Philadelphia, Thomas Sully and Gilbert Stuart.