portrait of a man

Franz von Lenbach's portrait of an unidentified man, dated 1877, is representative of the enormous volume of portraiture his Munich studio produced for Germany's growing professional and aristocratic classes during the Gründerzeit boom. Lenbach's formula — dark backgrounds, glazed highlights, Old Master gravitas — was so successful that he employed studio assistants to complete drapery and backgrounds while he concentrated on faces. These works collectively constitute one of the most important visual records of Wilhelmine German society, and the Munich Central Collecting Point was a post-war Allied depot for Nazi-seized artworks.

Dark tonal grounds create a Rembrandt-like depth, with the face emerging through careful layering of warm glazes over a cool imprimatura. Lenbach's handling of the eyes and mouth is precise and characterful, while peripheral areas receive a looser, more summary treatment.