Anna Jordan

Portrait Painting from the museum’s collection showing a middle-aged woman depicted half-length, with her eyes directed at the viewer and a slight smile on her face. The colour scheme is sober, almost monochromatic, maintained in various shades of grey, as well as olive and dark, almost black green. The painting dates back to the second half of the 18th century and is attributed to Anton Graff (born November 1736 in Winterthur, died June 1813 in Dresden), a Swiss painter, famous portraitist, active in Germany and considered as German painter originating from Switzerland. Born into a family of craftsmen, he began his studies at the school of painting in Winterthur, later in Augsburg, where he did not stay long because of the jealousy of the other members of the guild. He often travelled to Munich to study paintings. In April 1766 he went to Dresden, where he became court painter and teacher of painting at the Academy of Arts. He received many commissions for portraits, and his painting was much appreciated. He is considered as master of light and shadow. When painting, he used light in such a way that it touches the face of the portrayed person (as in the Łańcut painting). When portraying women, he masterfully rendered the costumes – dresses of various materials, draperies, accessories (shawls, boas). In his early works he used a monochromatic background, as in this portrait kept in Łańcut, and in later years he painted landscapes in addition to portraits. The (oval) portrait in a wide wooden, gilded frame decorated on the axes with an applied ornament of volutes, rocaille and a branch with a flower is exhibited in the corridor of the second floor of the castle. On the reverse, an inscription in German on the painting loom informing about the portrayed woman.