Portrait of a Girl

An almost identical likeness, entitled "Modest Susanna", was executed in 1837.
Disturbed at her toilet, Susanna, the sweet Biedermeier girl with fashionable corkscrew curls and delicately tinged rosy cheeks, bashfully hides her bosom, gathering the shift, which has slipped from her shoulder, close to her body. The flawless flesh tint of the exposed skin harmonises charmingly with the white of the shift. A lively accent is created with the dashing red bow in her hair at the back of her neck. The fabric of the simple shift is rendered with loose, broad brush strokes, as is the iridescent fabric of the bluish-green scarf, which is draped in opulent folds and creates an effective colour contrast. It was one of Amerling's favourite compositional schemata to position the bare-backed sitter, turned away from the beholder. The circumscribed, close-up section of the scene emphasises the intimacy of the moment and is another stylistic device frequently employed by the artist. In this instance, Amerling, who frequently combined portrait and genre painting, presents a typified likeness of feminine charm. Effective highlights lend a soft gleam to the young face and betray the influence of Thomas Lawrence's art of portraiture. The head, which is inclined slightly sideways, the dreamy sentimental look and the gently sloping line of back and shoulders suggest sensitivity, gentleness and a need for protection. These characteristics were consistent with the ideal of femininity of the time.

MAYR-OEHRING Erika: Likeness of a Girl, in: GROSCHNER Gabriele, HABERSATTER Thomas, MAYR-OEHRING Erika (Ed.): Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2002, p. 114