{"product_id":"antique-oil-portrait-painting-gentleman-gilt-frame-1840","title":"Antique Oil Portrait Painting of a Gentleman, Gilt Frame, Circa 1840","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA gentleman in a black frock coat and bow-tied stock looks out from a soft brown ground, his side curls in the fashion of the late 1830s and 40s. Pen inscriptions on the stretcher name him as Johann Jakob Jung and add “und seine Frau, geb. Becker,” which tells me he was meant to be read with a wife’s portrait. I can’t confirm the sitter from the painting, and the inscriptions are later, so I’ve recorded them as found. The crested gilt frame carries a printed German framer’s label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Artist | Unidentified\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Signature | Unsigned. The stretcher bears later pen inscriptions reading “Johann Jakob Jung” with a further line in German describing him as founder of the Hessen-Nassau ironworks association, and on the opposite stretcher edge, “und seine Frau, geb. Becker”. The inscriptions are in a later hand and are recorded as found.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Medium | Oil on canvas\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Subject | Bust-length portrait of a gentleman in a black frock coat and stock\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Origin | Central European, likely German\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Age | Circa 1840, assessed on the sitter’s dress and hair. The reverse has been altered, so there is no original stretcher or tacking evidence to narrow the date further.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Canvas Size | 10.6 in. W x 13.6 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame Size | 14.8 in. W x 26.8 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Format | Portrait, rectangular\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame | Gilded composition frame with a scrolled crest, rope-twist and leaf-tip mouldings, acanthus corner ornaments, and a lower cartouche with a blank nameplate. The reverse carries a printed German framer’s label reading “Rahmen-Fabrikation” and “Collette, Friedrichstrasse 12”, and an impressed crown mark on the crest board. The label wording and frame style point to the later 19th century, so the frame is probably later than the portrait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]School or Movement | Biedermeier. The Central European style of roughly 1815 to 1848, when a prosperous middle class commissioned plain, direct likenesses in sober dress rather than grand court portraits. Many were painted by trained regional artists for families, local firms and town institutions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Support | Oil on canvas on stretcher\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[condition]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe painting shows fine craquelure throughout, most visible in the face. There are small flaking losses and lifting paint at the hairline and around the eyes and cheek, small scattered losses and pale specks across the brown background, and a small chip in the coat at lower left. The sheen is uneven, with the dark coat reading drier than the flesh. The seller has disclosed previous relining and areas of overpainting, and the extent and location of the overpainting are not mapped here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe frame shows wear to the gilding throughout, with white gesso exposed where the lower cartouche has chipped. On the reverse the applied crest and cartouche show gesso cracking and lifting at their edges, with a hairline crack in the crest. The lower left corner block shows a small gap at the joint. The stretcher is covered in brown paper that is torn in places, and the hanging plate is screwed to the frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePlease review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Austyn Marie Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51899912716566,"sku":"ENM-20011","price":1285.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0896\/4623\/5926\/files\/October2026-12617.jpg?v=1791653200","url":"https:\/\/austynmariedesign.com\/products\/antique-oil-portrait-painting-gentleman-gilt-frame-1840","provider":"Austyn Marie Design","version":"1.0","type":"link"}