Portrait of Ottilia von Waldthausen
| Dating | 1900 |
|---|---|
| Material / technique | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92 x 70 cm |
| Literature | |
| Exhibitions | |
| Provenance | Frits Goovaerts 1993 Bequest by Frits Goovaerts to present owner |
| Current residence | Private property the Netherlands |
| Signature | b.r. in paint: Hendrik GOOVAERTS // DÜSSELDORF 1900 |
| Headings | |
| Remarks | She has put her hand with the lorgnette in her lap, while she looks at us gently, this lady with her pearl jewelry and her corsage of forget-me-nots. Here we see Ottilia Luisa Countess van Beughem (1829–1900) and this is not the first portrait that Henri Goovaerts painted of her. Four years earlier, in 1896, Goovaerts had already painted her, commissioned by her husband, the merchant Gustav von Waldthausen. At that time, Goovaerts lived with Gustav and Ottilia Von Waldthausen in Essen in the Ruhr area. Here he had his own studio, in which he portrayed various members of the Von Waldthausen family. Here he also met his future wife Lily Meyer, who was Ottilia's companion. Henri Goovaerts probably made this portrait as an in memoriam for Lily after Ottilia's death in the spring of 1900. Lily was very fond of her last mistress and she would keep the portrait with her until the end of her life taking it everywhere. Rolled up, it survived two world wars and numerous migrations. During bombings, the rolled-up canvas lay under her bed. In 1988 Frits, the youngest son of Henri and Lily, restored the by then somewhat damaged canvas and glued it to chipboard, on which it still is today. |