111154

Countess Gabriele ‘Ella’ Stubenberg 1902

Bust-length in profile, head turned three-quarters to the left looking out at the viewer, wearing a white off the shoulder dress, a choker with a longer necklace and emerald drop earrings

Oil on canvas 67.5 x 47 cm (26 ⅖ x 18 ½ in.)

Inscribed lower right: László F.E. / 902 / szíves emlékűl [‘in cordial remembrance’ in pencil]

Sitters’ Book I, f. 54: Elsa Stubenberg Breunner

Sitters’ Book I, opp. f. 55: Camillo Gf Stubenberg 6.2.902

Private Collection

This head study was probably made in preparation for the formal three-quarter length portrait of the sitter [110509], also dated 1902, which remains in the same collection.

The present portrait has been cut down, possibly by de László himself, to fit the frame which is of a style consistent with those favoured by the artist at this period. The position of the signature and inscription, in pencil across the sitter’s shoulder, also suggests this has been added later, at least after the paint had dried.

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [110509].

CWS 2008