Portrait of Princess Franziska Kaunitz-Rietberg 1832

Editor: Here we have Josef Kriehuber's "Portrait of Princess Franziska Kaunitz-Rietberg," rendered in watercolor in 1832. There's such a gentle, almost wistful feeling about it. It seems very intimate. What leaps out at you when you look at this piece? Curator: Intimate is spot on, I think! You almost feel you're intruding on a private moment. But then, the very nature of portraiture... Isn't it always a performance, a curated presentation of self, even then? I see a dance between the controlled pose – the aristocratic bearing – and the fluidity of the watercolor, which gives her a softness, an ephemeral quality. The blue ribbon at her neck, it draws the eye, doesn't it? A little splash of Romantic yearning. Do you feel that yearning, too, or is it just me waxing lyrical again? Editor: I can definitely feel that sense of yearning. It's the Romantic era so that totally makes sense! It is such a clever composition, but where do you think that it’s a ‘performance’ over something truthful? Curator: Perhaps ‘performance’ is too harsh a word. More like ‘presentation.’ This is how she wants to be remembered, presented to posterity. Kriehuber gives her that, while still allowing that hint of melancholic vulnerability to seep through. And the almost faded palette, it makes her seem like a dream, an echo of a bygone era. Editor: So, the watercolor is part of the message, it reinforces the feeling? I get that. That really illuminates Kriehuber's intentions! Thanks! Curator: Precisely. It’s never just about what is depicted but also how it’s depicted, right? We interpret, they express, we learn and grow through art history.