Young lady by the water, watercolor by Ferdinand Heilbuth
Ferdinand Heilbuth was born in Hamburg in 1826 and moved to Paris in 1848. He exhibited at the Salon from 1853 onwards and won several prizes there.
Initially a painter of historical and religious scenes, he gradually turned to genre scenes. He was one of the founders of the Société d'acquarellistes français (French Watercolorists Society) and, upon his death, part of his fortune was bequeathed to the Société des Artistes Français (French Artists Society) to help artists in need. Vincent Van Gogh expressed his admiration for Heilbuth in his correspondence.
He painted with a keen eye for detail, a vibrant palette, and atmospheres that sometimes evoked Impressionism. The elegant Parisian woman, eternally young and beautiful, remained his favorite subject, as in the watercolor we are presenting here, which is quite characteristic of his work.
