Bidspirit auction | MAX, GABRIEL CORNELIUS RITTER VON

MAX, GABRIEL CORNELIUS RITTER VON (1840 Prague – 1915 Munich) - MAX, GABRIEL CORNELIUS RITTER VON (1840 Prague – 1915 Munich)- Portrait of a Young Girl with Spring Flowers. This exquisite and tender portrait of a young girl holding a lush bouquet of wildflowers is a quintessential masterpiece by Gabriel Cornelius Ritter von Max, one of the most prominent figures of the 19th-century Munich School and a pioneer of German Symbolism. The painting depicts a young girl—traditionally identified via the period label on the reverse as an Austrian Princess—with long, cascading brown hair and gentle, introspective blue eyes. In her hands, she holds a brilliantly impastoed bouquet featuring wild daisies, irises, pansies, and delicate spring blossoms. The vivid, textural execution of the flowers forms a stunning contrast with the soft, smooth rendering of the child's complexion. Typical of von Max’s celebrated portraits of women and children, the sitter gazes out with a melancholy, ethereal sweetness that elevates the painting from a simple portrait to a Symbolist allegory of youth and innocence. Inscribed on old gallery paper label on the reverse: ”Gabriel Cornelius Max geb. 23.8.1840 in Prag gest. 24.11.1915 in München / Oesterreichische Prinzessin / Öl auf Leinwand / 43/37”. Signed upper right: G. Max. Oil on canvas , 43 x 37 cm , With frame: 68 x 60 cm. Dimensions 43 x 37 cm