1781 -1858 · Mainz, Vienna, Paris and court of Bavaria

Neoclassical elegance, luminous skin tones and precision of fabrics characterize the court portraits of Joseph Karl Stieler.

Joseph Karl Stieler was born in Mainz in 1781 into a family of engravers. His first training gave him a taste for clear outline and resemblance, which he perfected in Vienna then in Paris with François Gérard. Having become court painter to the King of Bavaria in 1820, he created effigies of sovereigns, princes, musicians and European personalities. His Portrait of Beethoven, executed the same year, combines the physical presence of the composer with the intensity of creation, the score of the Missa solemnis appearing in his hands. For Louis I of Bavaria, Stieler undertook the famous Gallery of Beauties from 1827 to 1850: thirty-six portraits of women from social backgrounds varied, today gathered at Nymphenburg Castle. In his portraits, the drawing remains firm, the accessories are chosen with moderation and the faces stand out with regular light. Without renouncing the idealization of the courtyard, Stieler individualizes each model through the look, the head posture and the rhythm of the fabrics. The "Joseph Karl Stieler" selection notably compares Portrait of Beethoven and Self-Portrait. His reading favors composition.

Stieler grants the face the clarity of an icon while retaining the precise signs of a personality.