Portrait of a Young Gentleman, Biedermeier Lithograph, circa 1830
€ 90
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1830
Mapmaker / artist
Artist's signature on the stone, not legible
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Lithograph
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
30 × 23 cm (11.8 × 9.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-58
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. Even toning; scattered light foxing across the sheet, mostly in the margins, with a few small spots near the image. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original lithographed portrait of a young gentleman, drawn in crayon on the stone and signed by the artist within an oval flourish at lower left. The sitter is not named on the sheet, and there is no title or imprint.
The young man is shown bust length, turned slightly to the right and looking out at the viewer with a direct, faintly amused expression. His thick dark hair is worn in loose curls, and he wears a coat with a broad dark velvet collar and full, gathered sleeve heads over a waistcoat, with a checked stock tied high at the throat. The face is modeled with care in soft gradations of tone, while the costume fades into the paper in a vignette, leaving a wide plain sheet around the image.
The dress points clearly to the years around 1825 to 1835, the Biedermeier period, when portrait lithography flourished in the German speaking lands. Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder in Munich in 1796, and because the artist drew directly on the stone, a lithographed portrait keeps the softness and immediacy of a chalk drawing. Likenesses of private sitters were often printed in small numbers for family and friends, which is why so many survive without a name.
Unnamed portraits of this quality are collected for the drawing and for the character of the face, and this one has an engaging presence. Framed with a generous mat, it would sit well in a library, a bedroom or a hallway, or in a group of portraits of the period.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
