Pope Leo XIII

Franz von Lenbach was the preeminent portrait painter of Wilhelmine Germany, celebrated for psychologically penetrating images of the era's political and intellectual giants. This 1885 portrait of Pope Leo XIII — painted from sittings in Rome — was one of his most celebrated commissions and was widely reproduced as an engraving. Leo XIII, who reigned from 1878 to 1903, was one of the most politically engaged popes of the modern era, and Lenbach's portrait of the aged, ascetic pontiff became the definitive image of this important figure in Catholic history.

Lenbach employs his characteristic dark background against which the white papal vestments and the aged, luminous face are dramatically set. His handling of the face is exceptional — the skin rendered with transparent glazes that convey the translucency of great age, while the eyes retain a fierce intellectual intensity.