Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

Commissioned directly from the artist in 1803, probably by Joachim Otto Ulrich von Levetzow, chamberlain of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin;
Thence by descent to the sitter's daughter, Baroness Ulrike von Levetzow (1804-99);
Thence by descent to Baron von Kühlmann-Stumm, Schloss Ramholz.

J. Armbruster, 'Frühling des Lebens', Die Frau, Blätter der Frankfurter Zeitung, unknown date, reproduced.

The catalogue illustration is representative for the actual painting. The canvas has an old relining, which is well done. The paint surface seems to be in very good condition, and is under a slightly dirty varnish layer. No major damages are visible to the naked eye, although inspection under UV light reveals a repaired scratch in the centre of her dress, and two small repaired damages right of her ear and below her hand. Furthermore, additional strengthening in the dress and shawl and some small scattered retouchings, e.g. in the chair and background are revealed. The signature appears to be slightly strengthened as well. Overall, the painting is in very good condition. Offfered in a plain gilt wood frame in good condition. (ML)
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This graceful portrait of Amalie von Levetzow (1788-1868), née Von Brösigke, was painted in 1803, the year in which, at the age of fifteen, she married her first husband, Joachim Otto Ulrich von Levetzow, Chamberlain of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It is likely that Tischbein, who at that time enjoyed an outstanding reputation as a portraitist, was commissioned by the Chamberlain himself to paint the portrait of his bride. But although Amalie bore him two daughters, Ulrike and Amalia, their marriage did not last. Four years later, she married her former husband's cousin Friedrich von Levetzow, with whom she had another daughter, Bertha, but her husband tragically died shortly afterwards as an officer in the battle of Waterloo. Not until many years later, after a longstanding friendship, did she get married to her third husband, Count Franz von Klebelsberg zu Thumburg.

It was through her last husband that Amalie befriended the most important German writer of the time, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Goethe is known to have visited the family in a health resort in Marienbad for at least three consecutive years. However, it was not Amalie herself, but her eldest daughter Ulrike (1804-1899), who had become the object of the poet's affection. Goethe grew so fond of the beautiful young girl, that in 1823, though more than thrice her age, he had planned to propose to her. But, on behalf of her daughter, Amalie strongly opposed such an engagement, at which an inconsolable Goethe eventually wrote one of his finest works: the famous Elegy of Marienbad.  

Johann Friedrich August Tischbein was born into a family of painters in Maastricht in 1750, yet he was primarily active as a portrait painter in Germany in the late 18^th Century. He was apprenticed to both his father Johann Valentin Tischbein the Elder (1715-1767), and his uncle, another celebrated portraitist Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder (1722-1789), and, in addition studied in Paris and Rome. In 1800 Tischbein was named director at the Academy of Arts in Leipzig. As a portraitist, Tischbein was especially appreciated for his sensitive, proto-Romantic naturalism. Here Tischbein has portrayed Amalie as a delicate beauty of barely fifteen. Her informal pose, her dreamy expression and the subtle movement of her dress, contribute to the overall refinement of this attractive portrait.