Countess Maria Magda Kuefstein at the Easel, 1885/86

Anton Romako (1832–1889) became acquainted with the Kuefstein family of aristocrats likely already during his time in Rome. The head of the family, Count Karl von Kuefstein (1838–1925), was a diplomat in Switzerland and Paris as well as philanthropist and promoter of the arts. The portrait of his wife, Countess Maria Magda Kuefstein, was created in 1885/86 at Greillenstein Palace, which had been owned by the family since the 16th century. Romako captured the countess engrossed in her painting activities. The composition is strongly reminiscent of the type of genre painting prevalent in the Netherlands since the 16th century. The swift brushstrokes and the light, almost pastel-like colors invest the work with an incompleteness that make it appear like a study.

AS, 2022

Additional Text according to Settlement, June 2011:
« Ing. Mořic Eisler (1889–1971) was a building contractor, designer and art collector in Brno/Brünn. During the National Socialist occupation of Czechoslovakia, Eisler’s art collection was confiscated by the Gestapo. Countess Maria Magda Kuefstein at the Easel subsequently entered the Viennese art trade. Rudolf Leopold acquired the work from the art dealer Wolfgang Gurlitt in the early 1950s and brought it into the Leopold Museum Private Foundation in 1994.
Since the work is undoubtedly the property of the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, but it was seized from Mořic Eisler and not restituted, it was an important concern of the Leopold Museum to find a joint solution in the sense of a fair and just procedure with the legal successors to Mořic Eisler. »