THE BALTIC PORTRAIT AND STILL LIFE PAINTER ALEXANDRA VON BERCKHOLTZ (1821–1899)

Abstract

The Baltic artist Alexandra von Berckholtz was among the mostimportant portrait painters of her time. However, her works haddisappeared from art-historical memory because, after her death, theywere sold and spread all over the world. An international researchproject started in 2014 was able to rediscover her works and her lifestory.Von Berckholtz was given her first art lessons in 1841 by the courtpainter Louis Wagner in Karlsruhe, Germany. From 1847 until 1854she studied in Paris at the studio of the history painter Joseph-NicolasRobert-Fleury, who had considerable influence on her pictorialstyle which combined realism and idealism. Another significantinfluence was Richard Lauchert, a former student and close friendof Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Von Berckholtz’s numerous travels,e.g. to Switzerland, France, and the Czech Republic, were also arich source of inspiration. She changed the conventions of nobilityportrait and concentrated on still lifes in her later work, in whichshe reflected the Dutch style of the Baroque period. Alexandra vonBerckholtz associated with important personalities from the fieldsof art, music, politics, and technology, and was socially active.