Portrait of Calla Gilissen
| Dating | August 1912 |
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| Material / technique | |
| Dimensions | 200 x 150 cm (ca.) |
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| Provenance | |
| Current residence | unknown |
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| Remarks | This painting is only known from a few interior photos of Henri Goovaerts' studio in Sint Pieter. Those photos are in the archive of Henri's widow Lily Goovaerts. On the back of one of the photos, Lily wrote as an explanation for her sons: 'ein Bild welches Vater malen wollte [...] einige Tage vor seinem Tode!' (‘A portrait that father wanted to paint […] a few days before his death!’) In those last days of his life, Henri Goovaerts worked in addition to the painting of the Maastricht Civic Guard, on two ladies portraits one of which is the portrait of Calla Gilissen, born Lemaire. This portrait, whose current whereabouts are unknown, never got finished. Yet it was still taken by the client, Nicolaas Gilissen, Calla's husband. Based on the proportion of the painting on the studio photographs, the dimensions of this portrait must be roughly 200 x 150 cm. This painting is a good example of Goovaerts' tendency to approach the portrait according to the tradition of nineteenth century studio photography. People were put in a scenery with a painted landscape in the background and a single piece of furniture in the forefront. The white sofa is an object that can also be seen on the interior photographs of the studio. The dachshund is the pet of the painter himself. |