DLA018-0066  Transcription (translated where indicated)

VILLA MATHILDE

MERANO M.A.

ALTO ADIGE

ITALY

8th May [1]932

My dear friend –

I suppose you and dear Mrs de Laszlo are back from Miami Beach, at your beautiful home in London and although the climate and surroundings are different, you will be glad to be in dear old England again!

I have been end of this month for 10 days at Zurich with my daughter^[1] whom I haven’t seen since August last year – and we both enjoyed our ‘Beisammensein’ [being together]! – she is now back at Teufen in school and I return here for four weeks until we meet again.

I intend to take Anne Marie to England about first week of June and have with me young Countess Therese Eltz,^[2] who is the daughter of Countess Christine Eltz, who was the greatest friend of my poor late wife. Therese will act as “Chapron [sic] and Bändigerin [tamer]”! She is a good looking sympathetic girl

[Page 2]

of 29 – who was already 1½ year in England in a Convent School teaching german language and at the same time accomplishing her English.

As Anne Marie will be only next November 16 year old – she must have a chapron and I hope she and Therese Eltz will become friends as their mothers were.

During my stay in London I will be as much as possible ‘ingoe’ as I am not much fit for social duties and after settling Anne Marie’s programme for her stay in London and the country – I shall clear out and go to Bad Hall in Austria for my annual “Jod-Cure [iodine cure]”!.

I hope sinserely [sic], that you and Mrs de Laszlo will be after our arrival in London – that we have a chance of seeing you during my stay there – London without you would be [remainder of this paragraph in German in the original] too sad for me – as I am longing to see you – even if it can only be for a short while. The general situation of the world is so awful that I do not want to write about it and I hope also that during our meeting we will find more enjoyable things to chat about.

I hope that you and Mrs de Laszlo and all your dears are enjoying the best of health.

With kindest regards to Mrs de Laszlo | [the following in German in the original] I remain as always your devoted friend

R Slatin

Editorial Notes:

Sir Rudolf Carl von Slatin, also known as ‘Slatin Pasha’ (1857-1932); for biographical notes, see [7178].

De László had planned to paint a picture for his own pleasure on a subject in connection with the First World War. He wished to depict: “not men fighting, but the still nobler part of suffering women at home; women of all classes in a chapel surrounding the burning candles for the fallen souls” (Rutter, pp. 372-373). The painting was never started, although many studies and sketches remained in the artist’s studio on his death. De László made four studies of Sir Rudolph’s daughter, Baroness Anne Marie von Slatin, for the picture: a full-length study of the Baroness kneeling in a church interior [4298], and three others that included both her and her companion, Countess Thérèse Eltz, who was persuaded to pose [2974] [7006] & [7944]. De László also made a study portrait of Baroness Anne Marie [7176], which he gave to the sitter as a thank-you for agreeing to pose for the War Picture.

SMDL (transcription)

19/05/2018

&

LV (translation)

22/11/2021