92. Gottfried Lindauer 1839 - 1926
Mrs Schischka
Oil on canvas
65 x 49 cm
Signed & dated 1876
est. $8,000 - 12,000
Fetched $12,000
Relative Size: Mrs Schischka
Relative size

Like the artist himself, Rosalie Schischka was a Bohemian, born in Pilsen. She arrived in New Zealand with her husband Lorenz and seven children in 1864, eventually settling in the Puhoi valley where they farmed 220 acres. Lorenz Schischka died in 1880, his wife surviving another twenty years. She was 73 when Lindauer painted this solemn portrait for which she dressed in the formal mourning attire she probably wore for the rest of her life. The artist has taken considerable care over details of facial expression, jewellery and fabric lending support to the view that this is a portrait from life, unlike many of Lindauer's Maori subjects which were based on photographs.

PETER SHAW

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