Blonder Mädchenkopf

Gabriel von Max's 'Blonde Girl's Head' (1885) belongs to his extensive series of female head studies — a subject that combined the academic figure study with his characteristic atmospheric, dreamlike treatment of the female face. His blonde female subjects were among his most commercially successful works, their combination of physical beauty with the mysterious, slightly unfocused gaze that was his signature quality creating images of considerable popular appeal.

Von Max renders the blonde female head with his characteristic soft atmospheric technique — the fair hair and pale complexion treated with the warmth and luminosity that distinguished his approach from more conventional academic handling. His palette for the blonde subjects is warm and golden, the specific quality of fair coloring in warm light creating the characteristic Von Max atmosphere. The slightly unfocused or distant gaze that was his signature gives the subject her quality of dreamy presence.