KOLBE, HEINRICH CHRISTOPHDüsseldorf 1771 - 1836


Title: Portrait of a Young Woman at the Sewing Table.
Image of Julie Caroline of Rath, born Bemberg.
Date: Ca. 1815.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 120.5 x 95.5cm.
Frame: Framed.
Literature:
Journal "Geschichte im Wuppertal", 16, 2007, pp. 31 - 35, published online: www.bgv-wuppertal.de;
H. Heidermann: Der Düsseldorfer Maler Heinrich Christoph Kolbe, in: Ddf. Jahrb. 75, 2004/05, pp. 221-294

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The portrayed woman is the younger daughter of the Wuppertal manufacturer Johann Peter Bemberg (1758 - 1838). His textile dye works developed into an international company for the production of artificial silk in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1813, Julie Caroline Bemberg married Johann Peter of Rath, whose mother Heinrich Christoph Kolbe also painted. The Düsseldorf painter painted portraits of many entrepreneurs and their family members from Wuppertal. Today, the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal has ten portraits of Kolbe, including a smaller, probably later version of the portrait of Julie Caroline vom Rath shown here. The 'Iron Cross' that the young lady is wearing was awarded to the portrayed woman for her commitment as a co-founder of the 'Elberfelder Frauenverein', which produced and collected clothing for the participants in the Wars of Liberation. Consequently, Julie Caroline of Rath is depicted doing needlework.