Johann Grund (1808 Vienna - 1887 Baden-Baden), Mother and daughter in traditional costume of the Albanian mountains under an orange tree

oil on canvas, 120 cm x 97 cm, signed, 1843 dated, Rome locally mentioned, craquelure, stained, minimal paint chips, Provenance: Galerie Assindia, Essen (gallery label on verso)

Johann Grund was a German-Austrian genre, portrait and history painter of the 19th century. From 1820 he studied at the academy of arts in Vienna. In the tradition of studytrips he moved through the Alpine countries, Germany and France. He was also understandably drawn as an artist to Rome, where he lived around 1842/43. In the south-east of Rome one can find the landscapes of the Albanian mountains, where, according to their costumes, the beautiful mother and her daughter, portrayed by Grund in oil on canvas, came from. Together they are depicted in front of an orange tree, leaning against a rocky wall. The mother looks lovingly at her child, who is wrapped in a flower ribbon and playing the tambourine. A lovely scene, almost of Arcadian fantasy, created by the painter in finest painting. Works by the artist Johann Grund are in the collections of the museums of Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Vienna.