This beautiful early 20th-century oil painting by German artist Fritz Sattler (1867-1944) depicts a seated lady in a sumptuous yellow dress with robes. It’s possibly Princess Elisabeth Marie of Bavaria.
Princess Elisabeth was a member of the Royal House of Wittelsbach and the child of Prince Leopold of Bavaria and his wife, Archduchess Gisela of Austria. The House of Wittelsbach was a powerful dynasty, which ruled over various territories including Bavaria, Cologne, Holland, Sweden and Denmark and Norway.
She’s known primarily for her elopement and secret marriage to Count Otto von Seefried auf Buttenheim who was lower in rank and thus not favoured by her family. To make matters worse, in a letter to his in-laws to announce the marriage, Otto proclaimed that both he and Elisabeth were so desperately in love that they’d considered mutual suicide if destiny conspired against them. Naturally, her father was enraged.
Fortunately, Elisabeth’s mother, Gisela, and her grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph, acknowledged the union. And over time, the relationship with her father was somewhat restored. The pair had five children.
Here, in 1915, we see her at age 41. The portrait is inscribed ‘München’ where the artist spent much of his career.
Signed/dated upper left and held within a gold frame.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 39½” x 46½” / 101cm x 118cm
Year of creation: 1915
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed ‘München’ in the top left.
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear.
German artist Fritz Sattler is known for his expressive still lifes, landscapes and portraits in oil and watercolour. He worked predominantly from his studio in Munich and his works were shown at the Munich Art Exhibitions of 1924 and 1932.
We care profoundly about our role as custodians and every piece in the collection has been assessed by our conservator. When required, we undertake professional restoration carefully using reversible techniques and adopt a light touch to retain the aged charm of each work.
