Hans Makart

Bertha Makart, Vienna (the artist's wife)
Josef Berres Edler von Perez (1821-1912), painter and friend of the artist
Dr Moriz Piffl (1842-1931) (a gift from the above); thence by descent

Bertha Makart, Die letzten Lebensjahre Hans Makarts, 1885, hand-written manuscript (Stadtbibliothek, Vienna, 66037), p. 13
Gerbert Frodl, Hans Makart: Monographie und Werkverzeichnis, Salzburg, 1974, p. 445, no. 669
Monika Oberhammer‚ 'Ein Selbstbildnis Hans Makarts', Festschrift für Wilhelm Messerer zum 60. Geburtstag, Cologne, 1980, pp. 309-313, illustrated

Apart from scattered hairline cracks, notably a diagonal one (approx. 21cm.) at the lower centre, and one at the centre of the left edge (approx. 9cm.), the panel is in good, flat condition. There are scattered flecks of retouching visible under ultraviolet light, notably a few at the upper left edge, and to the lower left corner. Apart from a few artist's pinholes at the upper right corner, some yellowing of the varnish, and some flecks of paint loss at the upper right corner, this work is in good condition, with rich tones.
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Painted circa 1883, the present work is a rare self-portrait. It is mentioned in Makart's second wife's memoirs, in which she asks the artist, who had always been reluctant to paint himself, to make a self-portrait for her. This commission explains the work's intimate character and modest size.