oil, canvas, 35 × 28 cm

posthumous estate donation in 2020

This is the first work by Eduard Veith (a representative of the traditionalist school of realist painting who was active around the end of the 19th century) that the gallery has acquired for its collection. It shows a dark-haired woman in three-quarter profile against a dark background, reflecting the artist’s close links with the world of the theatre and the chiaroscuro techniques that were typical of theatrical art. The light initially draws our attention to the woman’s face and her hair falling loosely across her forehead. This small detail represents an entirely deliberate disruption of the monolithic incarnation of the face with its highly elaborate depiction of the woman’s eyes. Another interesting feature is the motif of the relatively large ear-ring in the woman’s right ear, which is merely hinted at in transparent form. Veith’s artistic idiom is mature and free-flowing, as can be seen particularly in the lower part of the painting, depicting the woman’s clothing. Veith’s work drew on the historicist and symbolist tradition represented by Hans Makart and Anselm Feuerbach.