Louise Breslau - Portrait of the friends [1881]

Louise Catherine Breslau (1856–1927)

Portraet der Freunde [1881]

Genève, MAH (Musée d'Art et d'Histoire) -

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In 1879, when she had finished her training, Louise Breslau moved in with two artist friends, Sophie Schaeppi (Winterthur, 1852-1921), a fellow countrywoman whom she had met at the Académie Julian, and the Italian Maria Feller, who intended to become an actress. In the Portrait of Friends, Breslau depicts herself in the company of her flatmates and her dog. Sophie Schaeppi occupies the centre of the painting, holding a mechanical pencil and sketchbook. Breslau, from behind, is sitting at her easel. She is holding a coffee mug in her left hand and watching her friends. The protagonists' eyes do not meet, creating an effect of distance between them. The year it was painted, the work was accepted at the Paris Salon, where it met with great success, and was then shown at the Brussels Salon. The following year, it was included in the summer exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and, in 1883, it was presented at the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich. It was on this occasion that the Museum of Art and History acquired it. This painting by Breslau was the first to be bought by an institution.

 

Text: Museum

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