An energetic early 20th-century study of a lady by Austrian artist, Josef Jungwirth (1869-1950).

With broad vigorous brushmarks, the artist has given the subject character and life. The paint is applied confidently and probably at speed. It feels like a piece completed in a few hours, perhaps with a single sitting.

Her right ear is little more than a blur and her shimmering lips are poised to talk. Deliberate techniques to give the portrait a sense of movement and dynamism.

Jungwirth was born in Vienna and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He’s best known for accompanying Archduke Franz Ferdinand on his travels and creating several portraits for him. He was essentially a court painter. Towards the end of his life, he’s recorded as living in Stockholm.

Medium: Oil on metallic panel
Overall size: 20” x 22” / 51cm x 56cm
Year of creation: 1912
Provenance: Sweden
Condition: Very good overall. Frame with a little age-related wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £13,200 achieved for 'Arianna e Bacco' at auction in 1999.