Girl with Pink Parasol, n. d.

Alois Hans Schram (1864–1919), an exponent of the painting of the Vienna Ringstrasse epoch in the late 19th century, loved to make elegantly dressed young ladies in nature the subjects of his art. This also goes for his undated and uncompleted painting Girl with Pink Parasol. Surrounded by the green of a garden sits a young girl, her face turned toward us. To protect herself and, more importantly—given the pulchritudinous ideals of the time—her beauty against the tanning sunlight, she is pulling the edge of the pink parasol close to her face with her right hand. The vibrant and sketchy play of shimmering light reflexes and shadows is reminiscent of paintings of French Impressionism—by comparison with Schram’s completed works probably an unintentional effect.

MK, 2021