1856 -1924 · German Impressionism and Berlin Secession

Intimate portraits, silhouettes of children, flower gardens and a supple touch give Dora Hitz a sensitive voice within Berlin modernity.

Born in 1856 in Altdorf near Nuremberg, Dora Hitz received artistic training in Munich, where academic education gradually opened up to freer painting. Her career took on an international dimension when she became court painter to Queen Elizabeth of Romania, known as Carmen Sylva. In Bucharest and in the royal residences, she created portraits and sets before returning to Germany. Based in Berlin in the 1890s, Hitz established herself as a portrait painter, particularly attentive to women and children. Installed in Berlin in the 1890s, Hitz established herself as a portrait painter, particularly attentive to women and children. She favored natural poses, close framing and garden atmospheres where the figure seemed enveloped by color. Member founder of the Berlin Secession in 1898, she participated in the break with conservative institutions and exhibited alongside Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth and Käthe Kollwitz. Her works combine solid drawing, clear palette and vibrant touch. The war and economic difficulties darkened her last years. She died in Berlin in 1924, leaving a scattered corpus whose overall scale remains estimated. The "Dora Hitz" selection notably compares Dans les roses and Portrait d’une jeunesse fille. His reading favors movement.

Dora Hitz paints presence before status: the face, light and flowers make up an intimate space where the model can simply be herself.