Der junge Schubert

This oil painting is unsigned and undated. Recent stylistic examination and a dimensional analysis based on the form of Schubert’s face indicate with a probability that borders on certainty that it is a picture of the young Franz Schubert (born 1797). The portrait shows a young man in a thoughtful pose. The axis of the figure is diagonally aligned. The position of arms and head can be seen as a visual expression of the figure’s thoughts. The vague shape of a square piano suggests that the figure is a musician. Unfortunately, both the traces of a signature and the music on the stand are not readable. The ornamental artefacts adorning the left hip of the young artist - a trinket or signet probably attached to the watch chain - can be considered as fashionable attributes. (rh)

Lit.: Rudolf Hopfner: Masterpieces from the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. A Short Guide through the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Vol. 1, Vienna 2019