Page 83 - Gallery 19C Nazarenes Catalogues

2 10 PROVENANCE LITERATURE
Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow Commissioned to the artist by Schadow 1861, no. 752 (Sept. 16).
GER M AN, 1788–1862 Simon Moritz Bethmann for Peters 1962, 66
Louise de Bethmann, 1823
Schmidt 1962, 23
MADONNA AND CHILD Private collection, Switzerland Grewe 1998, vol. II, no. 17, 38
inscribed Louise de Bethmann 1823 verso Sale, Beurret & Bailly Auktionen, Grewe 2017, no. 25, 59, ill., 60, 302
oil on canvas Basel, 21 June 2017, lot 28
7 ¹/₂ by 5 ¹/₂ in. (19 by 14 cm.) Private Collection, California
(acquired at the above sale)

In 1823, Count Alexei Araktschejew (1769–1834), then the Russian war The descriptions correspond faithfully to the small-scale canvas, which Not surprisingly, the Bethmanns played an important role in Frankfurt,
minister, approached Wilhelm Schadow (1788–1862) with the request to resurfaced on the Swiss art market in the summer of 2017, and possesses both culturally and politically, and Simon Moritz made a name for
paint the Prussian King Frederick William III. Well-received, it attracted precisely the intimate tenderness cherished so much by Helwig. himself not least by sponsoring the Philanthropin (Greek for “place of
further commissions, several by prominent patrons. The painter was Two pencil drawings substantiate this attribution. Housed today in the humanity”) a Jewish elementary and high school for Frankfurt’s Jewry
pleased. “In addition to many portraits,” he noted in his memoirs, Künstlerverein Malkasten, Düsseldorf, they show a toddler’s left arm and founded by Mayer Amschel Rothchild in 1804. Bethmann’s support
“I executed some Christian representations, such as a Madonna for left leg respectively (Cats. 10a and 10b). Moreover, the picture’s exquisite went beyond monetary means. His overarching dream was to promote
the Banquier Bethmann and a second for the Grand Duke of Weimar, execution, too, points to Schadow's authorship while the particular tolerance by awakening an interest in these endeavors among the
which is in the castle there,” and a third for the Bishop of Ermland format and rather summarily applied paint (esp. in sections of the broader Christian population. While the Madonna points to the couple’s
(a historic region in East Prussian, also known as Warmia, and today landscape and garment) suggest a replica by the artist’s own hand. unquestioned allegiance to the Christian faith, their advocacy for a
located in Poland). Most of these paintings are missing today, with The smaller format certainly befits the subject matter. It creates dialogue with the Jewish population certainly spoke to Schadow’s own
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little written evidence of what they looked like. The exception is a a sense of intimacy, which, uniting motif and color choices, preoccupation with his Jewish roots and the theme of conversion.
picture described as a Madonna, a half-figure in life size, which Schadow makes Maria, kissing the Christ Child a true little gem.
had submitted to the art exhibition of the Berlin Academy in 1822.
In June of the following year, a lengthy review by Amalie von Helwig This assumption of Schadow’s authorship is supported by two Cat. 10a Wilhelm Schadow, Study of a Toddler’s Left Leg (for
(1776–1831) appeared in Schorn’s influential Kunst-Blatt. The picture inscriptions on the back that allow us to connect the picture to a concrete the figure of the Christ child), pencil heightened with white
shows, the widely-read art critic told her readers, “the virginal mother written reference: “Louise de Bethmann / 1823” in pen on the upper chalk, 15.5 × 16.5 cm, Künstlerverein Malkasten, Düsseldorf
walking in an open serene area, as she softly and tenderly kisses the stretcher; “Schadow” in pencil on the lower. Together, these inscriptions Cat. 10b Wilhelm Schadow, Study of a Toddler’s Left Arm (for
child in her arms on the forehead. The expression of the mother’s identify the painting as the hitherto lost “Bethmann Madonna.” The exact the figure of the Christ child), pencil heightened with white
head is very lovely, the carnation warm and clear, the drapery tasteful, circumstances of the commission must be speculation, but not so the chalk, 14 × 18 cm, Künstlerverein Malkasten, Düsseldorf
in strong colors edged with fine ornaments in gold, reminiscent of identity of the patron, the “Banquier Bethmann,” who unquestionably
the best achievements of this kind … .” As far as the execution was was Simon Moritz von Bethmann (1768–1826). The Frankfurt banker had ¹ Schadow 1861, cited in Grewe 2017, 59.
concerned, Helwig concluded, the picture embodied a further progress married Louise Friederike Boode (1792–1869), a native Dutch woman, in ² Ibid.
in Schadow’s artistic conception. “If we are not mistaken, the artist’s 1810. The couple had four sons—Moritz, Karl, Alexander and Heinrich—
taste has been further perfected with regard to the drapery, which the eldest of whom, Moritz, would take over the bank’s management after ³ Ibid.
… seems so well understood as to be magnificently ordered.” Even his father's unexpected early death. The family business, the so-called
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th
the painter and art historian Ernst Förster (1800–1885), who usually “Bethmann Brothers Bank,” had emerged from the 18 century as one of
championed Peter Cornelius (1783–1867), was swayed. Schadow’s the richest and most influential banking institutions in Germany.
Mary with Child, he gushed, was “of the most wonderful expression, a In 1806 Emperor Franz I. had elevated the family into nobility with the
beautiful, true picture of the most intimate motherly tenderness.” 3 family's right to pass on the noble title from generation to generation.

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