Mihael Stroy, Portrait of a Lady in a Red Armchair (Ana Sermage), 1839

Mihael Stroy
Portrait of a Lady in a Red Armchair (Ana Sermage), 1839
oil on canvas
95 x 77 cm
MG-48

Mihael Stroy (Ljubno, 1803 – Ljubljana, 1871) was the most prominent Slovenian painter in the first half of the 19th century and a key figure within the Central European artistic milieu. After completing his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, he visited Zagreb in 1830 during his travels and remained there until 1841. He was active in artistic circles that embraced Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and the Biedermeier style. Stroy primarily painted portraits of public figures and distinguished citizens, capturing the era’s lifestyle and aesthetics, alongside religious and genre scenes. His body of work is particularly noted for his portraits of women, in which he demonstrated exceptional psychological insight. These portraits are characterised by their elegance and are often set in romantic surroundings that enhance their sophistication.
The 1839 painting Portrait of a Lady in a Red Armchair (Ana Sermage) reflects the tradition of representative portraits, showing women at the height of contemporary fashion and elegance. It depicts a middle-aged woman seated in a red armchair, her gaze fixed directly at the observer. She is dressed in a black, low-cut gown, with her hair styled in long curls adorned with a delicate scarf. A cashmere shawl in shades of blue and red is gracefully draped around her waist and across her lap. Her relaxed posture, along with her white gloves and an abundance of jewellery, draws particular attention. The striking use of colour contrasts and the refined characterisation of the subject establish this portrait as one of the finest works from the Slovenian artist’s Zagreb period.

Text: Luciana Fuks, trainee curator at the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Mihael Stroy, A Portrait of Senator Kavić, 1839

Mihael Stroy
(1803-1871)
A Portrait of Senator Kavić, 1839
oil on canvas
34x24 cm
MG-65

Slovenian painter Mihael Stroy was one of those foreign painters whose stay in Croatia had a significant impact on Croatia’s cultural and creative milieu. He ended up in Croatia together with a generation of young enthusiasts at a time when feelings of patriotism and national pride were booming. He enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1822, at a time of Vienna’s decline in artistic creativity and of the emergence of Biedermeier, an original art movement and style of the bourgeoisie closely linked to the Austrians’ mentality and milieu. Biedermeier was a heterogeneous style that made use of elements of Classicism, Romanticism and Realism. Stroy moved from Vienna to Zagreb as early as 1830 and stayed in Zagreb until 1842. He painted portraits across Croatia, at the castles and manors of Croatia’s northern region of Zagorje, and the towns of Varaždin and Samobor. Whilst in Croatia, he produced some eighty paintings of unequal quality, portraits, allegories of four continents for Trakošćan Castle and several sacral compositions.
From amongst his often typified portraits featuring fashionable details and elegant figure placements, Mihael Stroy’s A Portrait of Senator Kavić from 1839 kept at the National Museum of Modern Art is to be singled out as one of the pinnacles of Stroy’s achievements in portraiture during his stay in Zagreb. The way light radiates from the incarnadine skin tones and from the dark brown hair of the senator lends a certain liveliness to the official portrait. The richness of his blacks which are shaded to depict different materials and which contrast with the whiteness of the senator’s shirt indicates that Stroy possessed perfect mastery of painterly techniques. What is more, the red velvet armchair is complementary to the green background. Stroy brought to life the portrait of this classically placed senator with the help of his colour-specific virtuosity and creativity.

Tekst: Dajana Vlaisavljević, muzejska savjetnica Nacionalnog muzeja moderne umjetnosti © Nacionalni muzej moderne umjetnosti, Zagreb
Translated by: Ana Janković
Foto: Goran Vranić © Nacionalni muzej moderne umjetnosti, Zagreb

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