Joseph Kaltner

Lady in White Gown with Blue Sash

Though many portraits from the years of the French revolution show a great individuality and vividness, there are also rather stylized representations. This portrait of a lady in a white gown is a mixture of both kinds. Whereas the lady' s posture seems posed and the background scenery rather artificial, this somewhat stiff composition is balanced by the sitter' s keen and bold facial expression which gives vividness and expressiveness to the picture. Kaltner' s miniatures from the 18th century mostly show the sitter in a rather stiff posture with a serious expression. Their large dark eyes give his sitters an alert expression with a slightly fixed stare. The background and the shadows in Kaltner' s very delicately and detailed painted miniatures are often reproduced in blueish shades.

J.S.O.