Portrait of Daughter Irma

'Portrait of Daughter Irma,' painted by Pitthordt around 1900, places his own child within the long tradition of artists painting their family members—works that are simultaneously personal documents and professional demonstrations. The portrait of a family member allowed an artist to work with an available and cooperative sitter while producing an image with genuine emotional investment. Irma Pitthordt appears here as both a daughter recorded in paint and a demonstration of her father's capacity for tender, specific characterisation. The Slovak National Gallery holds the work.

The intimate subject warrants a warmer, more softly modelled approach than Pitthordt's professional commissioned portraits. The girl's face is rendered with careful attention to the specific qualities of a child's skin and features, against a simple background that keeps the focus personal.