Dated Web objects before 1800 through 1839

Jacob Maentel

Date: c. 1810

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1999.93

Text Entries: The inclusion of German calligraphic inscriptions "Copenhagen Waltzes" and "Eat, Drink and Be Merry to All" in the watercolor portrait of Wilhelm Witz aligns this work with the fraktur tradition-a Pennsylvania German-American art form comprising painted birth, marriage or baptismal certificates with distinctive, decorative lettering. Witz, a smartly clad gentleman with appropriately formal everyday costume-tailcoat and top hat-appears opposite two dogs, one likewise accessorized with a decorative collar of spiked metalwork, against a small hilly landscape. Several objects allude to the celebratory nature of this picture. These include red wine, or possibly Marzen, a reddish-amber German beer; oysters (symbols of good fortune and a popular dish peddled throughout New England beginning in 1800) and the decorated tambourine Witz holds, an instrument associated with rejoicing and happiness.

Jacob Maentel

Date: c. 1815

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1999.94

Text Entries: Since the landscape appears diminutive, with small arched hills, tiny shrubs and trees-a formula often used by Maentel-the figure appears commanding and monumental, drawing attention to her costume, coiffure and likeness. This portrait reflects the popular trend in fashion, from 1800-1820, of modish dress with raised waistlines and soft gathers and intricate hairstyle.

Jacob Maentel

Date: 1825–39

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1999.92

Text Entries: Flowers and pets frequently appeared in folk portraits of children. Often these have symbolic meaning, such as the rose, a convention used to indicate the female gender. Approximately seventy-five percent of all nineteenth-century images of children are posthumous mourning portraits due to the high mortality rate of the period. The seeming weightlessness and stiff quality of this figure shown standing against a rose-tinted sky (an indicator of death) suggest this painting maybe a memorial to a daughter. Other mourning portraits feature leafless trees, drooping flowers, empty baby shoes, chairs, or cradle.