Lot 20: Carl Rudolph Sohn (German 1845-1908)

Portrait of a lady, three-quarter length, standing beside a chair, holding a fan
signed and dated 'C.Sohn. jr. 1889' (upper right)
oil on canvas
134 x 83 cm. (52 3/4 x 32 3/4 in.)

Admired throughout the great courts of Europe, Carl Rudolph Sohn spent his career as a portrait painter far beyond the borders of his native Germany. However, despite his extensive travels and exposure to a range of stylistic schools of painting, Sohn's art remained quintessentially German. Trained at the Kunstakademie of his native city of Dusseldorf, Sohn was a pupil of Muller and Roeting. He also received some instruction from his nephew, August Wilhelm Sohn (1830-1899). Sohn's portraits of 'John Brown with Spot' (1882), 'Queen Victoria' (1883) or 'H.R.H. Princess Beatrice' (1883. Royal Collection, Osborne House) show a determined attempt at naturalism in the facial features and pose while, at the same time, carrying a degree sentimental undertone. A similar impression is felt in his striking 'Portrait of a Lady'. Here, under a most intense stare, Sohn offers an engaging account of a spellbinding character. The artist translates his analysis of the sitter with a polished and detailed rendering of the facial features, dress and decorum. While such precision belongs to the German naturalist style he was trained in, Sohn introduces a note of highly intense realism by choosing to sustain the woman's glance for eternity. It is this element which transforms the painting of an ordinarily beautiful woman into a portrait of a transfixing being. Her identity remains unknown, yet her presence can almost be touched.