Eugene de Blaas

Kunsthandlung L.T Neumann, Vienna
MacConnal-Mason & Sons Ltd., London

De Blaas studied painting under his father, the Austrian history painter, Karl de Blaas, and at the Venice and Vienna Academies of Art.  He later settled in Venice, where he became Professor at the Academy.  There, de Blaas specialized in depicting a wide range of Venetian subjects, from its carnival, to balcony scenes, to portraits of individuals like this beautifully dressed woman. Her elaborate costume suggests a woman of wealth. Though de Blaas more commonly focused on flower sellers and women of the working class, this portrait shows a refined subject, but certainly not a remote figure incapable of love. Rather, the underlying theme of the painting is that of flirtation. He deftly captures the very moment when glances are exchanged between an attractive young girl and the unseen suitor, in this case none other than the male viewer himself. De Blaas exhibited at the Royal Academy in London from 1875 to 1892 and was popular among British collectors.