Friedrich Dürck (1809 – 1884) - Portrait of Auguste Henriette Baroness von Wallersee

Portrait of Auguste Henriette Baroness von Wallersee in Spanish Costume, 1860

Catalogue number 82
Oil on canvas
119 x 87.5 cm
Signed and dated lower left: F Dürck / 1860

Henriette Mendel (July 31, 1833, Darmstadt – November 12, 1891, Munich) was ennobled in 1859 and thereafter known as Auguste Henriette Freiin von Wallersee, following her morganatic marriage to Duke Ludwig "Louis" Duke in Bavaria (June 21, 1831 – November 6, 1920) – all as a result of the birth of their daughter Marie Louise on February 24, 1858, the product of the love between the duke and the actress Henriette Mendel, a scandalous incident at the time.

Friedrich Dürck, born on August 13, 1809, in Saxony, was the son of Barbara Dürck, whose youngest brother was the famous painter Joseph Karl Stieler. Dürck received his first training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig under Hanns Schnorr von Carolsfeld and Gustav Jäger. In 1822, his uncle, the royal Bavarian court painter Karl Stieler, invited him to continue his studies under his guidance in Munich. On June 23, 1823, thirteen-year-old Fritz Dürck enrolled at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Although Dürck continued to execute copy assignments for his uncle until 1848, he gradually emerged from the master-disciple relationship and created independent works. He also contributed two works to complement the Beauty Gallery at Nymphenburg Palace, traveled extensively, and painted portraits in various cities, especially in Vienna, where he traveled in 1854. In 1858, he received a portrait commission at the Weimar court and in 1861 attended the artist festival and artist assembly in Salzburg. He is said to have traveled to Rome, Merano, the courts of Sweden, Norway, and the North Sea. Our painting, dated 1860, can be placed between these travels and was most likely created in Munich (atelier Amalienstr. 65 or 66) - eleven years after Dürck was awarded the Swedish Wasa Order and three years after being honored with the Order of Merit of Saint Michael, Second Class. He died on October 25, 1884.

Now, the painting is part of the collection of Galerie Torres Nieto Fine Arts, located on Fürstenstraße, adjacent to the Palais Herzog Max - the birthplace of Princess Elisabeth in Bavaria, later Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (*December 24, 1837). Friedrich Dürck's residence at Amalienstr. 2 is barely a stone's throw from the current location of the painting. It depicts the actress in a bust-length portrait in Spanish costume, wearing a black lace dress with white-lined sleeves adorned with a lace veil adorned with flowers. Slightly turned to the left, she gazes almost en face at the viewer. The background is composed of a theater backdrop with a column, parapet, and scenic landscape - all in keeping with the profession of the sitter.

References:
Arno Scherling, Der Maler Friedrich Dürck (1809 – 1884): Biographie, Rezeption, Malweise, Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke, Passau, 2023, Nr. 82, p. 220.
Brigitte Sokop, Jene Gräfin Larisch, Wien, 1988, p. 13 ff.
Erika Bestenreiner: Sisi und ihre Geschwister, München, 2003.
Augsburger Tagblatt, March 7, 1860: Augsburger Kunstverein: "Allgemeine Aufmerksamkeit findet ein großes Portrait von Dürck, der Frau Baronesse von Wallersee, der Gemahlin sr. K. Hoh. Des Herzogs Ludwig von Bayern".
Der Bayerische Landbote, March 9, 1860: Kunstverein München: "Das historische Fach wird durch mehrere Porträts vertreten, unter denen das einer schönen jungen Dame in schwarzem Kleide von Dürck durch Schönheit und Auffassung wie der Behandlung sich vor Allem auszeichnet".
Abendblatt zur Neuen Münchner Zeitung, No. 61, March 12, 1860, p. 241: "Münchener Kunstbericht. Gr. Abermals hat ein neues Kunstvereinsjahr begonnen. … Unter den Porträts erregte das Bildniß einer hochstehenden Dame von Dürck allgemeines Interesse. Geistvolle Auffassung, geschmackvolle Anordnung und Zartheit der Behandlung waren vereinigt, um die schöne Gestalt auch im Bilde zu einer höchst anziehenden zu machen“.