Lot 381: Johann Georg Ziesenis (Copenhagen 1716- Hanover

Johann Georg Ziesenis (Copenhagen 1716- Hanover 1776) Portrait of Maria Anna Freifrau von Venningen, née Freiin von Hutten zu Stolzenberg (inscribed on an old family inventory label on the reverse), with transferred signature and dating on the reverse J. G. Ziesenis pinxit Ao 1753, oil on canvas, laid down on panel, 45.7 x 36.7 cm, original gilded frame, (Wo) Johann Georg Ziesenis executed this sensitive portrait during his first maturity at the Mannheim court of Christian IV of Palatinate- Zweibrücken. Whereas his early portraits dating from the 1740s were still marked by mannered and Baroque stylisation, he started to reach mastership in this genre in 1750 and rightly became one of the leading portraitists of the 18th century. The portrait of Maria Anna attests to this newly achieved refinement in the depiction of characteristic facial features and above all in the delicate treatment of textures, making the material of the blue fur-trimmed silk cape seem almost tangible. Such early dated portrait of superior quality dating from the artist's maturity are rare (correspondence with Dr. Karin Schrader, 12 November 2007). A second, privately owned version (Schrader, cat. 109, fig. 101), whose signature and dating have been transferred to the reverse of the doubled canvas as well, seems to have been executed three years later, i.e., in 1756. The two portraits, with share a rectangular format, differ in a central point: in the second painting, Ziesenis alsodepicted the sitter's hands, as well as a small, quite plainly rendered headdress. In a portrait of Duchess Philippine of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel, which is comparable to the present work as to the treatment of textures although it was executed 15 years later, the sitter wears a similar fur-trimmed dress and a muff, which, however, is made of sable. The fact that the sitter of the present work had herself depicted with an ermine muff suggests a pronounced need to impress. Maria Anna Freifrau von Venningen was born in Würzburg in 1734 as the daughter of Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr von Hutten zum Stolzenberg. Several high-ranking clergymen, including the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Christoph Franz, originated from his family. The latter was the sitter's uncle, and her parents had moved to his court. In 1750 she married Carl Philipp Freiherr von Venningen, whom she followed to the Electoral Palatinate. Her husband held various high-ranking offices, such as privy council and president of the high court. They owned three palaces, two of which they had newly built or reconstructed, and led a fashionable social life. One of their estates, the summer residence of Agnesthal, built in 1760, is particularly charming. Maria Anna died in 1761, only one year after it had been completed. Literature: comp. Karin Schrader, "Der Bildnismaler Johann Georg Ziesenis 1716 - 1776 - Leben und Werk mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog", in: Göttinger Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte, vol. 3, Göttingen 1995; Stadtarchiv Freiburg, Bestand L4-Archiv der Freiherrn v. Pfirt, Abt. B Fl.6. (Maria Anna Ffr. v. Venningen); Thieme-Becker, vol. XXXVI, pp. 497, 498. Provenance: probably Carl Philipp Freiherr von Venningen, Schloss Agnesthal, 1753; passed on to the present owners by inheritance