Girl in Blue Headscarf (Beatrice from Jamaica), 1914

A dynasty of steel industrialists, the Böhler family counted among the most important art patrons of fin-de-siècle Vienna. Hans Böhler (1884–1961) therefore not only received support for his career as an artist but was also given the possibility to go on numerous travels. In the course of traveling through Japan, China as well as North and South America, he painted the Girl in Blue Headscarf in 1914 in Jamaica. Böhler uses thick outlines to separate areas of unmixed color. The picture detail he chose was a classical portrait type in that he placed the protagonist as a half-length figure in the center of the picture. Particularly impressive is the casual and undaunted posture of the little girl by the name of Beatrice, making her look like a resolute adult. In the perspective chosen, she perkily looks up to viewers.

RR, 2021