Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

Prince Johann Georg von Dessau (1748–1811), by whom commissioned;
Caroline von Hill, by 1811;
Kapellmeister Schneider, Dessau, by 1823;
Wilhelm Friedrich Kunze, Leipzig, by 1853;
Otto Nauhardt, Leipzig, from 1862;
German Trade Union;
Acquired from the above in 1954 by the Museum der bildende Künste, Leipzig, inv. no. 1469;
Restituted to the rightful heirs but remained on long term loan to the Roentgen Museum, Neuwied, until recently.

Leipzig, Museum der bildende Künste, on long term loan;
Leipzig, Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum, Die Leipziger Bildnismalerei von 1700 bis 1850, 1912, no. 748;
Leipzig, Leipziger Kunsthalle, Johann Friedrich August Tischbein: 1750 - 1812. Gemälde und Zeichnungen aus deutschem Museums- und Privatbesitz, April - May 1924, no. 59;
Weimar, Kunsthalle am Theaterplatz, Das Kinderbild von Meisterhand, 25 May - 15 October 1972, no 71;
Vienna, Künstlerhaus, Merkur und die Musen. Schätze der Weltkultur aus Leipzig, 21 September 1989 - 18 February 1990, no. IV/2/6;
Kassel, Neue Galerie, 1 December 2005 - 26 February 2006 and Leipzig, Museum der bildende Künste, 18 March - 5 June 2006, 3x Tischbein und die europäische Malerei um 1800, no. 55.

A. Kurzwelly, Das Bildnis in Leipzig vom Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts bis zur Biedermeierzeit: aus Anlass der vom Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum zur Leipzig 1912 veranstalten Porträtausstellung, Leipzig 1912, reproduced plate 60;
W. Biehl, 'Die Leipzigerbildnismalerei von 1700 bis 1850', in Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, cat. no. 47, 1912, pp. 282 and 285;
Die Leipziger Bildnismalerei von 1700 bis 1850, exhibition catalogue, Leipzig 1912, cat. no. 748;
A. Stoll, Der Maler Joh. Friedrich August Tischbein und seine Familie. Ein Lebensbild nach den Aufzeichnungen seiner Tochter Caroline, Stuttgart 1923, p. 201, footnote p. 117;
150 Jahre Kunst und Künstler in Leipzig, Jubiläumsausstellung, exhibition catalogue, Leipzig 1937, p. 69, cat. no. 570;
Das Kinderbild von Meisterhand, exhibition catalogue, Weimar 1971, cat. no. 71;
Restaurierte Kunstwerke in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, exhibition catalogue, Berlin 1980, pp. 74–76, figs. 53-55;
S. Heiland, 'Bilderschicksale: Der "verschwundene" Großvater', in Information Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, 1981, Book 2/3, pp. 6–9;
Merkur und die Musen. Schätze der Weltkultur aus Leipzig, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1989, p. 493, cat. no. IV/2/6, reproduced p. 160;
D. Gleisberg (ed.), Kunstschätze aus Sachsen. Meisterwerke aus Leipziger Museen vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, exhibition catalogue, Karlsruhe 1991, p. 296, no. 150;
D. Sander (ed.) Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig: Katalog der Gemälde, Leipzig 1995, p. 193, cat. no 1469;
J. Nicolaisen et al. (eds), 3x Tischbein und die europäische Malerei um 1800, exhibition catalogue, Munich 2005, pp. 278–79, cat. no. 55, reproduced, and also on the front cover.

The canvas has been relined and recently cleaned and restored. The paint surface has very extensive but meticuous retouchings throughout, especially in the background, but no major damages in evidence. The restoration has been very well carried out and is not obtrusive to the naked eye. The picture will not require any further attention.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Tischbein used the same central figure group of his wife and two daughters from an earlier work, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, but extended the composition to include his own self-portrait and an easel on the right.¹ In the nineteenth century, under the instructions of Tischbein’s youngest daughter Betty (1787–1867), seen here as a child sitting on her mother’s lap, his self-portrait was painted over and two sides of the canvas cut down in order to reconfigure the composition with the mother and daughters at centre. This ‘reworking’ was only discovered in 1975 during the restoration of the work when the green curtain painted over Tischbein was removed and his likeness once again revealed.

The family portrait was commissioned in 1796 by Prince Johann Georg (1748–1811), brother of the ruling Duke Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817).²

1. Inv. no. 843, oil on canvas, 135 x 100 cm. See X. Salmon et al. (eds), L'enfant chéri au siècle des Lumières, exhibition catalogue, Paris 2003, p. 52, no. 16, reproduced p. 53.

2. See Nicolaisen et al., under Literature, p. 178.