Lot 905/69. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann b. Warsaw 1819, d. Copenhagen 1881)“L’Aspetta. Hun venter ham”. L’Aspetta. She is waiting for him. Signed and dated . Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann 1878. Oil on canvas. 145×95 cm.

Exhibited: The Royal Academy of Arts, Berlin 1878 no. 364. Here described as “”Er Kommt sicher” (Zwei italienische Mädchen). Charlottenborg 1879 no. 132. Here bought by Queen Louise for a price that today would be equivalent to DKK 275,000. The painting hung in Queen Louise’s drawing room in Christian IX’s Palace at Amalienborg. See interior photography by Julie Laurberg (1856–1925) from the blue chamber room i Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg, c. 1908–1809, where the two Italian girls can be seen on the back wall. ARoS kunstmuseum, Aarhus “Mellem Verdener”, 2021 no. 67, reproduced p. 140.

Literature: Jerzy Miskowiak, “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Nationalromantikkens enfant terrible.”, Frydenlund 2018 mentioned and reproduced as a lithograph, p. 271. Jerzy Miskowiak, “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann”, (English/Polish text), Bosz, Polen 2020, no. 224 mentioned p. 208 and reproduced p. 209.

Provenance: Queen Louise (1851–1926) married to Christian IX (1818–1906). The painting is mentioned in the King’s will and was located at Amalienborg Palace until the death of their son Frederik VIII 1912. Bruun Rasmuusen auction 133, 1961 no. 6, reproduced p. 19 (here mistakenly dated 1872). Bruun Rasmussen auction 880, 2018 no. 13, reproduced p. 27.

The painting was completed after a stroll in a park outside Porta Pia in Rome. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann tells about the painting in “Illustreret Tidende”, 1879, no. 1022, p. 322 (in Danish): “On a window sill in a dilapidated wall, I see a woman leaning on her lovely, tanned arms, with two soft and sparkly brown eyes under dark eyebrows, with the coral amulet, protecting her against the evil eye, resting on her full bosom that billows as if it is about to burst its holster. Quite mature fruit, a strong and voluptuous girl. A younger one stood next to the adult; she did not seem to know why. Perhaps she was curious, perhaps bored? She did not wait long – he came, he saw, he conquered! I watched him walk with her, immersing themselves in the shade of the laurel alleys. Kisses were exchanged beneath the dense branches of roses and laurels.”

Estimate 250,000–350,000 DKK. Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art.11/30/21. Sold 360,000 DKK (ca $55,000)

W firmie Bruun Rasmussen osiem prac Elżbiety Baumann. Pierwsza z nich ma niezwykłą królewską proweniencję, jest bardzo dobrze udokumentowana i jest znakomita. Malarka z warszawskimi korzeniami, jest nadal mało popularna w Polsce, choć jej książkową biografie autorstwa Jerzego Miśkowiaka znajdą czytelnicy w dziale Book Rewievs.

Lot 905/81. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann b. Warsaw 1819, d. Copenhagen 1881). “Reading the Scriptures”. Signed and dated 1852. Oil on canvas. 70×48 cm. Exhibited: Society of Female Artists, London 1863, London, where The Art Journal describes it as “An old man reading aloud to a child standing next to his knee”.  ARoS Kunstmuseum Aarhus, “Mellem Verdener”, 2021 no. 59 reproduced p. 128.  Literature: Jerzy Miskowiak, “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Nationalromantikkens enfant terrible”, Frydenlund, 2018, reproduced p. 224. Jerzy Miskowiak, “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann”, (English/Polish text), Bosz, Polen 2020, no. 189 reproduced p. 177.

Estimate 40,000–50,000 DKK. Rasmussen. 11/30/21. Sold 35,000 DKK

Lot 905/85. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann (b. Warsaw 1819, d. Copenhagen 1881). Portrait of the Danish painter Thorald Læssøe (1816–1878). Unsigned. Oil on canvas. Oval in a rectangular frame. 57×44 cm. Provenance: By descent in the family of Thorald Læssøe.

In 1857, Thorald Læssøe married Emy Francisca Erhadine Tidonia (1825–1863), née Countess Juel-Vind-Frijs. In 1863 they had a daughter, Emmy Frijs Læssøe, who had seven children, including Asa Stephensen (1897–1979), who was the current owner’s grandmother. The current owner is thus the great-great-grandchild of Thorald Læssøe. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann and Thorald Læssøe shared a long and heartfelt friendship. She mentions him with great veneration in several of her letters to her husband Jens Adolf Jerichau (1816–1883). She writes inter alia the following from London in May 1860 (in Danish): “Never (underlined), with the exception of T Læssøe, have I met fellow human beings who in a more dignified and loving way thinks of and works for the well-being of others, both for the individual and for the common good.” (Sine Krogh and Birgitte Fink, “Letters from London”, Copenhagen 2017, p. 129).

The fact, that the Jerichau Baumann couple named their firstborn son Thorald (1848–1909) after Læssøe, also shows how close and important the friendship was. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann was an excellent portrait painter, of which the present work is a fine example. Her skills with portrait painting were in high demand among the royals and nobles. She also painted a series of empathetic portraits of her own children, several of which she brought over during her stay in London, where they attracted quite a lot of attention and provided good publicity for her as an artist.

Estimate 60,000–80,000 DKK. Rasmussen. 11/30/21. Sold 50,000 DKK

Lot 905/87. Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann (b. Warsaw 1819, d. Copenhagen 1881).“Valkyrier”. Valkyries. Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 70×58 cm. Exhibited: The Royal Danish Galleries, New Bond Street i London 1871. After this exhibition The Art Journal wrote: “The motif shows a battle scene with Valkyries sitting on wild and strange horses, very appropriate for such a scene and story. The drawing is wonderfully spirited…”. “Rådhusudstillingen af dansk Kunst til 1890”, Copenhagen 1901 no. 785a. ARoS kunstmuseum, Aarhus, “Mellem Verdener”, 2021 no. 12, reproduced. p. 86.

Literature: Jerzy Miskowiak “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Nationalromantikkens enfant terrible” , Frydenlund 2018, reproduced and mentioned p. 111, where the author writes (in Danish): “The Valkyries in Norse mythology are maidens of war and daughters of Odin. With wings, on horseback and with lances in their hands, they make a wild attack on the evil giants and chaos monsters during Ragnarok. Everyone and everything is destroyed, and even the earth burns. But the sun, before it disappears, gives birth to a new sun, and its rays of light, seen behind the Valkyries, awaken a new and better world.”. Jerzy Miskowiak, “Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann”, (English/Polish text). Bosz, Polen 2020, no. 103 mentioned p. 100 and reproduced p. 101.

Provenance: Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann’s estate auction 1881 no. 14. Sold to J. Schierbeck. During the exhibition “Rådhusudstillingen af dansk Kunst til 1890” in 1901, the painting is listed as being in Mrs Schierbeck’s ownership. Nellemann & Thomsen auction 716, 1997 no. 2726.

Estimate 80,000–100,000 DKK. Rasmussen. 11/30/21. Sold 80,000 DKK