Lot 61

Jan Adolf Brandeis (1818 - 1872) PORTRAIT OF A LADY IN BLACK

From the expert opinion of PhDr. Nadězda Blažíčková-Horová: "After his studies, Brandeis settled permanently in Prague as a portrait painter and painter of portrait miniatures. In 1861 he set up a studio and, as photography expanded, a photographic workshop in the garden of Rudolf, Prince Thurn-Taxis in Jama. Here he painted portraits in oil, drew in pencil, but also created photographic likenesses coloured in pastel colours. He had a wide clientele, especially from the ranks of the nobility - the Thun-Hohensteins, the Clam-Gallas, the Chotks, the Schwarzenbergs, as well as from the ranks of social, public and cultural life and from the ranks of important representatives of the bourgeoisie. In the presented Portrait of the Lady in Black, we see most probably a member of the circle of František Palacký's Prague family, the portrait is offered by the descendants of the family. The face of the younger lady, presumably in mourning, is an illustration of how Brandeis could be elegant in his portraiture and give it a distinctive look."