Items Similar to Portrait Of A Gentleman With A Fur Collar, 19th-Century Oil Painting
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12
Wilhelm TrautscholdPortrait Of A Gentleman With A Fur Collar, 19th-Century Oil Paintingc. 1850
c. 1850
$7,509.27
£5,500
€6,469.88
CA$10,456.28
A$11,234.69
CHF 6,027.39
MX$132,357.57
About the Item
This striking mid-19th-century oil painting by German artist Wilhelm Trautschold (1815-1877) depicts a bearded gentleman, shown half-length against a softly toned background. His head turned slightly as if caught in a moment of thought.
With a calm and attentive gaze, directed outward yet inward at the same time, he projects the impression of a man accustomed to reflection rather than display. Draped in a dark fur-collared coat over a crisp white shirt, he is rendered with a quiet authority that feels earned rather than asserted.
The handling is sensitive and assured. The face is modelled through gentle tonal transitions rather than sharp outlines, allowing light to move softly across the forehead, eyes, and cheekbones. The fur collar is suggested with breadth and economy, its texture conveyed through mass and movement. There is nothing showy here, and no attempt at social theatre; the strength of the portrait lies in its restraint.
An inscription on the reverse identifies the sitter as an ear doctor by the name of ‘Vohsen’, a former student friend of ‘Karl Wenzel’, and names Trautschold as the painter. This suggests that the work was likely made privately rather than as a formal commission. Read in this light, the painting takes on the character of an intimate study: one learned man observed by another.
Trautschold was widely respected during his lifetime as a portrait painter, particularly for his depictions of academics, scientists, and professional figures. He worked between Germany and England - based in London for many years. This portrait reveals the qualities that define his best work: patience, balance, and a deep sensitivity to mood. It’s a presence that deepens with prolonged looking.
Trautschold is represented in numerous public collections, including at the V&A Museum, the Wellcome Collection, and the National Portrait Gallery.
Inscribed on the reverse and held in its original gilt composition frame with a broad cushioned moulding, finely worked foliate runs, and pronounced corner cartouches with turned bosses.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 32½” x 38” / 83cm x 97cm
Year of creation: c. 1850
Labels
Inscriptions: Inscribed on the reverse ‘Ohrenarzt Vohsen Studienfreund von Karl Wenzel gemalt von Trauschold, ca. 1850’.
Provenance: Private collection, Germany (Starnberg near Munich).
Artist’s auction maximum: £25,460 for ‘Ophelia (1867)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby’s, 19th Century European Paintings And Sculpture, New York, 24 May 1995 (lot 125).
Our reference: BRV2250
- Creator:Wilhelm Trautschold (1815 - 1877, German)
- Creation Year:c. 1850
- Dimensions:Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Width: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Cleaned. Faint stretcher marks. Craquelure throughout. The paint layer is stable. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
- Gallery Location:Cheltenham, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2328217492792
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
Premium sellers maintaining a 4.3+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 2017
1stDibs seller since 2023
252 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Cheltenham, United Kingdom
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllEarly 17th-Century Dutch School Portrait Of A Gentleman In A Ruff, Oil Painting
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This splendid early 17th-century Dutch School portrait depicts a stout gentleman wearing a tall starched ruff and a sober black doublet. It originated in the Low Countries before ent...
Category
Early 17th Century Baroque Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Mid-19thC English School Portrait Of A Gentleman With Magnifying Glass, Oil
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This charming mid-19th-century oil painting by British artist John Robert Wildman (1788-1843) depicts a gentleman wearing a dark brown frock coat with waistcoat, white shirt and crav...
Category
1840s Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
17th-Century Flemish School, Portrait Of A Gentleman In A Justaucorps, Oil
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This fine late 17th-century Flemish portrait depicts a distinguished gentleman dressed in the elaborate fashions of the 1670s. He wears a long, collarless coat known as a justaucorps...
Category
1670s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid-17th-Century Flemish School, Portrait Of A Man Holding A Jug, Oil Painting
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This engaging mid-17th-century Flemish oil on canvas depicts a cheerful young man who turns toward us with a knowing smile, his hand wrapped confidently around a stoneware beer jug. ...
Category
1650s Flemish School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid-17th-Century Spanish School Oil Painting, Portrait Of A Theologian
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This mid-17th-century Spanish oil on canvas depicts a dignified man of learning - a theologian, or perhaps a cathedral canon.
Dressed in a black cassock, marked by a vertical row of...
Category
Mid-17th Century Baroque Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid-18th-Century German School, Portrait Of An Aristocrat In Armour, Oil
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This mid-18th-century half-length German portrait depicts a middle-aged aristocrat wearing armour and a wig.
Despite his heavily-clad appearance, it’s likely that this rather noncha...
Category
1750s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
You May Also Like
Self Portrait. Original Oil Painting Austrian 19th Century
Located in London, GB
Joseph Weidner
Austrian 1801 - 1870
Self Portrait
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
Image size: 23 x 19 inches (58.5 x 48.5 cm)
Original gilt swept fra...
Category
1860s Vienna Secession Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
PORTRAIT OF UGO FOSCOLO - Antonio Jannone - Italian Oil On Canvas Painting
By ANTONIO JANNONE
Located in Napoli, IT
PORTRAIT OF UGO FOSCOLO - Oil on canvas cm.50x40, Antonio Jannone, Italy, 2002.
this beautiful portrait of the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo is the painter's pe...
Category
Early 2000s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Old Master Portrait Of An Old Man, Oil on Wood, Austria, 19th Century
Located in Eltville am Rhein, DE
Eleonore (Lori) Matschnig
Eisenerz 1838 - 1920 Graz
An Old Man, after Balthasar Denner
Oil on wood
Size: 40 x 31.5 cm
Frame: 59 x 51 cm
Good original condition
Viewing and collect...
Category
1870s Dutch School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Max Zinsmeister - Biedermeier School 1840 Oil, Portrait of A Gentleman
Located in Corsham, GB
A fine Biedermeier school portrait depicting a well-dressed gentleman with a smart black coat and brown leather gloves. Captured in a rich palette with impressive attention to detail...
Category
Mid-19th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, Early 18th Century Oil Painting
By Dominicus van der Smissen
Located in London, GB
Dominicus van der Smissen
Early 18th Century
Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch
Oil on canvas
Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches
Period gilt frame
This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774).
Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction.
Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre.
Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time.
Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist.
The Sitter
Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy.
From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching.
In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Attrib. Franz Seraph von Lenbach (1836-1904) - Portrait of a German Gentleman
Located in Corsham, GB
A fine portrait attributed to the German artist Franz Seraph von Lenbach (1836-1904). Using his favoured technique, the Venetian method, Lenbach has rendered the figure in rich depth...
Category
Early 20th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil











