Isidor Kaufmann

Private Collector (and sold: Christie's, New York, May 22, 1996, lot 244, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

G. Tobias Natter, ed., Isidor Kaufmann, 1853-1921, exh. cat., Vienna, 1995, p. 18, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. This painting is in very good condition. The panel on which it is painted is flat. The surface is most likely clean, although the varnish is a little dull. Under ultraviolet light there is a small retouch visible in his coat by the chair, another to the immediate left of the brandy bottle on the table. Other than this there appear to be no restorations and the picture is in charming condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The Bachelor's Birthday is a superb example of Kaufmann's celebrated genre subjects, which built upon the traditions of seventeenth century Dutch masters and then-contemporary French artist Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier's compositions. Here Kaufmann records in minute detail the trappings of Vienna's bourgeoisie: a well-dressed man has opened his birthday gift of fine wine, smiling as he reads the enclosed note. Through the 1880s and into the 1890s, Kaufmann's small works of smooth surface and incredible detail compelled viewers to closely examine these narrative scenes and to relish joyful private moments such as that suggested by the work's title. 

Like Goupil's relationship with Giovanni Boldini (see lots 91, 92), in the 1880s Kaufmann's style was guided in part by the commercial interests of his art dealer, Friedrich Schwarz (the dealer's stencil was distinctive, crossing the expanse of many of Kaufmann's small panels, see for example the reverse of The Chess Player, lot 62 ).  The commissions offered by Schwarz provided a steady income to Kaufmann and his fellow Viennese artists Josef Gisela, Anton Müller and Karl Zewy.  The group's paintings, as marketed by Schwarz, were appreciated for their depictions of everyday urban life and often referenced Biedermeier motifs popular earlier in the century. Yet Kaufmann's works were not necessarily intended to convey a moral message in their subtly humorous scenes detailing the trappings of modern life (G. Tobias Natter, "Scribblings and Sugar Water"? Glorification and Positions in the Work of Isidor Kaufmann" in Isidor Kaufmann, 1853-1921, exh. cat., Vienna, 1995, p. 18-19).

The Bachelor's Birthday is replete with visual clues that suggest the social position of the well-dressed man.  He sits on a finely upholstered chair with a table well-appointed with fruit, cake, liquor bottles and flowers set before him, while the birthday wine's basket sits thrown open, its bundles of straw packing strewn across the floor.   This merry bachelor is also erudite, as suggested by the cabinet overfilled with leather-bound books, a small globe, stuffed birds and gilt-framed artworks.  Overall, Kaufmann's use of warm reddish brown tones in the room's furniture and decorations (and in the blushed cheeks of the bachelor himself), placed within a small picture space, provide a feeling of comfort and socioeconomic security.  The room accurately reflects the interior design of  Vienna's apartment flats in the mid- to late nineteenth century.  In the densely populated city, apartment living had become typical in multi-story buildings, where space was limited and rooms were multipurpose.  The multifamily dwelling became the norm for the upper as well as the middle classes, where a majority of apartments often featured a single living room (the Zimmer) with a tiny kitchen annex and a smaller sleeping chamber (the Kabinett) attached (David J. Olsen, The City as a Work of Art, London, Paris, Vienna, New Haven,1986, p. 125).  To demonstrate their good taste, tenants would pile and clutter these rooms with carefully chosen objects. Replicating such apartment living in his work,  Kaufmann's small space, filled with collections and evidence of the good life, suggests a subtle narrative: that his bachelor has focused on his physical surroundings at the expense of personal relationships.