Roman Lady with Lute


Rome painted by Vjekoslav Karas 1845 - 1847 Oil on canvas 98,5 x 74 cm A young woman in half-profile to the left, with black hair, dark eyes, painted to below the knees; she is sitting in a black chair, her body turned to the front, holding a lute in her lap. She is wearing a town dress of the Roman Campagna region. There is no signature. Vjekoslav Karas (Karlovac 1821 - 1858), is the first known Croat trained as an artist of the second half of the 19th century. The Croatian History Museum also holds three watercolours donated to the National Museum by the painter himself, as well as numerous oil paintings, including the Roman Lady, one of the most famous paintings of Croatian fine art from the middle of the 19th century. The painting was donated to the National Museum in 1847 by Naum Mallin from Zagreb. M. Schneider, Portreti 1800-1870, Zagreb, 1973, page 139, catalogue number 280; Hrvatski narodni preporod 1790-1848, (exhibition catalogue), Zagreb, 1985, page 262, catalogue number 1123; P. Skutari, Karas i oko Karasa - problemi atribucije, (exhibition catalogue), Karlovac, 1988, pages 12 and 15, catalogue number 6; G. Gamulin, Slikarstvo u Hrvatskoj u XIX. stoljecu, Zagreb, 1996.




HPM/PMH-008581