Artwork Page for Leo Lehmann

Details / Information for Leo Lehmann

Leo Lehmann

1851

Rudolf Lehmann

(German, 1819–1905)
Culture
Germany, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Unframed: 67.5 x 55.5 cm (26 9/16 x 21 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin 1980.268
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This portrait portrays the artist's father, himself a painter and printmaker who gave his son his earliest artistic training. Fittingly, Lehmann depicted his father at work, surrounded by the tools of his trade. Resting his arms upon a sheet of paper supported by a book and a portfolio, Leo Lehmann holds a portecrayon, a penlike holder for the 19th-century equivalent of modern wax crayons. His intense gaze and his poised drawing implement suggest that he may be recording the likeness of his son, who at the same time paints his father's portrait. Lehmann was a successful portrait painter, especially among the English aristocracy, during the latter half of the 19th century. His popularity resulted not only from his remarkable ability to reproduce the appearance of surfaces—like his father's velvet coat—but also his capacity to capture the psychological presence of his sitters.
A vertically oriented oil painting in an oval format depicts a seated man with light skin tone and wispy white hair turned slightly to our left. Looking at us with a slight smile, rendered in smooth brushstrokes, he wears a dark burgundy velvet coat over a black cravat. His right hand holds a pencil over an open sketchbook. A thick brown book and spectacles rest on a table, emerging from the dark background.

Leo Lehmann

1851

Rudolf Lehmann

(German, 1819–1905)
Germany, 19th century

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