Marie Ellenrieder

Saint Stephen among the Angels,

oil on mill-board, 1857
Marie Ellenrieder (1791-1863)
 
Saint Stephen among the Angels
 

oil on mill-board

 

27.0 x 22.0 cm

 

verso signed and dated upper right: Marie Ellenrieder pinx: 1857


Meticulously cleaned and restored by the late Andrea Rothe (1936-2018), formerly Senior Conservator of Paintings, Getty Museum, and Jeanne McKee-Rothe, formerly Conservator, Norton Simon Museum.  See: https://www.iiconservation.org/node/7720


Provenance:


Princess Marie Amalie, Princess of Baden, Duchess Hamilton (1817-1888), a commissioned work


Dorotheum, Vienna, Ölgemälde und Aquarelle, June 9, 2011, Lot Nr. 183, where acquired by The Daulton Collection.



The painting is referenced in a letter dated May 8, 1857, Constance, from Marie Ellenrieder to her friend Carl Freiherr von Röder.  In that letter, Ellenrieder reports that she has been working on a commissioned picture of the transfiguration of St. Stephen with angels: "Was ich soeben in Arbeit habe ist eine Skitze, den Heil. Stephanus vorstellend, in der Verklärung unter Engel, welches ich sehr fleißig auszuführen gedenke; es ist von der Frau Herzoginn Hamilton bestellt." ["What I have just been working on is a sketch, presenting St. Stephen in the transfiguration under angels, which I intend to carry out very diligently; it was ordered by the Duchess Hamilton."]  Frau Herzoginn Hamilton (the Duchess Hamilton) is Marie Amalie, Princess of Baden (1817-1888), who married the Scottish nobleman Duke William Douglas-Hamilton (1811-1863) in 1843 and converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1855.  Princess Marie Amalie died in Baden-Baden in 1888 and presumably the painting was in her estate at that time.  See Marie Ellenrieder, Der schriftliche Nachlass, Nr. 193, www.edwin-fecker.de.

 
view in 2011 before conservation:
view of conserved painting with frame:
verso of framed painting:
detail of verso showing signature and date, upper right:
The signature matches known exemplars.  And it was not unusual for Ellenrieder sign the back, instead of the front, of her paintings.
detail of verso showing enigmatic pigment array, upper left:
The function of these enigmatic lines and dots of pigment is unknown; however, they are perhaps a window into the working methods of the artist.
detail of verso showing label of mill-board supplier, center:
The supplier of the mill-board, Winsor & Newton of London, was a very reputable source, which still in business to this day.  The label is dateable to the 1840s-50s. See: Jacob Simon, "British canvas, stretcher and panel suppliers’ marks: Part 11, Winsor & Newton panels," National Portrait Gallery, London, 2019-2020. https://www.npg.org.uk/assets/files/pdf/research/artists_materials_11_Winsor.pdf
Contact:
Jack Daulton
The Daulton Collection
Los Altos Hills, California 
info@marieellenrieder.com