(Haina 1722–1789 Kassel)
Portrait of Johann Rudolf Graf Waldbott von Bassenheim (1731–1805),
oil on canvas, 114 x 92 cm, framed

We are grateful to Anna-Charlotte Flohr for endorsing the attribution as an autograph work following inspection of the present painting in the original and for her help in cataloguing the present lot. Her extensive written analysis accompanies the present lot.

Johann Heinrich Tischbein’s portrait of the penultimate Burggraf of Friedberg is previously unpublished and constitutes an important addition to the artist’s oeuvre. It is a work of elegance and refinement, attractively composed and entirely characteristic of Tischbein’s activity for his period in the late 1750s and 1760s. The confident, loose brushstrokes, the delicacy of the surfaces, matt silk velvet, gold embroidery or shimmering armour as well as the sublime handling of the flesh tones all betray an important work by an artist considered one of the most important portraitists of the eighteenth century.

Count Waldbott-Bassenheim is depicted at a relatively young age, years before his ascension to some of the highest offices of the Holy Roman Empire. In a later variant of the present composition, conserved in the Wetterau Museum, Friedberg, he is shown some years older, and wearing the Imperial Order of St. Joseph of Burg Friedberg, of which he became prior after being appointed Burggraf in 1777.

Tischbein captures the youthful spirit and elegance of the young nobleman, scion of a powerful Rhenish noble family, who was to become the president of a highly influential court of the Empire and commander of the important imperial stronghold in central Germany, the Burg Friedberg in Hesse.

It is interesting to note that the artist repurposed all compositional features of an official state portrait, undoubtedly reflective of the young count’s wealth and status. By employing characteristic features of this portrait type, such as the breastplate of the armour, or the white sash of a military officer, as well as the commanding pose often associated with it, he transports the image his sitter wanted to convey. At the same time, however, by limiting his composition to these features and by not depicting other requisites of a military commander’s portrait, such as a helmet, or soldiers engaged in battle or camping in the background, the painting has a peaceful and harmonious elegance often absent in official state portraits.

Anna Flohr suggests a date of 1755–1765, which corresponds with the age of the sitter, who was born in 1731 and would have been between twenty-four and thirty-four. She puts it in context with important other works of this period, such as the recently rediscovered portrait of the Duc de Châtillon (see Patrimonia 391, ed. by Kulturstiftung der Länder, Johann Heinrich Tischbein d. Ä., Porträt des Louis Gaucher, Duc de Châtillon), the portrait of the young Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel wearing a breastplate (see A.-C. Flohr, Johann Heinrich Tischbein d. Ä. als Porträtmaler, mit einem kritischen Werkverzeichnis, Munich 1997, cat. no. G10), or the portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm von Donop in shooting dress (Flohr, ibid. cat. no. G101). The pose and overall composition are very similar to Tischbein’s portrait of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Arolsen, Collection Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, see Flohr, ibid. cat. no. G59).

The ‘Kasseler Tischbein’ numbers among the most gifted and influential members of this prolific family of artists. His patron, Count Stadion, enabled him to study in Paris for a period of five years, where he worked in the studio of Charles Vanloo from 1743 on. Together with Johann Christian Fiedler, Christian Bernhard Rode and Januarius Zick, Tischbein was one of the first German artists to travel to Paris for their further development. Between 1748 and 1751, Tischbein was in Italy, where he sojourned in Venice for several months, briefly visited Bologna and Florence, and lived in Rome for two years. In Venice he met Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, who became his friend. After his return from Italy, Count Stadion recommended the artist to Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel, who appointed him court painter in April 1753. After William’s death, Tischbein continued to be senior court painter to his successor, Frederick II. The artist started teaching drawing and painting at the Collegium Carolinum in 1762. In 1776, he became professor for painting at the Kassel Academy and simultaneously held the position of director. In 1779, he was appointed honorary member of the Accademia Clementina in Bologna. Tischbein is the author of important history paintings, yet today is primarily known for his courtly and elegant portraits.