Portrait of Melitta Feldkircher [married name: Löffler], in Profile to the Right, unfinished, c. 1910

This oil painting, rendered as a bust portrait, was created by the painter, graphic artist and designer Bertold Löffler (1874–1960) around 1910. It shows the designer, embroiderer and seamstress Melitta Feldkircher (1886–1960) in profile. As we can see in the lower right part of the canvas, it has remained unfinished. The artist depicted Feldkircher, who would become his wife, with her hair up and a meditative, inward expression using highly lively brushwork. The color of her mossy green dress matches the shadows on her face rendered in the same color. Feldkircher was among the now little-known women from the environs of the Wiener Werkstätte, who sold their works (primarily embroidery) at the workshop. She was also a member of the Austrian Werkbund.

MR, 2021