Selbstbildnis des Künstlers in seinem Atelier zu Mannheim

This self-portrait shows the artist Carl Kuntz, whose estate of around 700 works, bequeathed to his home city of Mannheim in 1873, marked the beginning of the Kunsthalle’s collection. During his lifetime Kuntz was especially famous for his pictures of animals, although his landscape paintings were also extremely popular. His artistic successes soon helped him to the post of court painter, and shortly before his death he was appointed director of the Grand Ducal Gallery in Karlsruhe.

However, at best, the self-portrait only provides an anticipation of these successes. It shows the young, nineteen-year-old painter in his studio in Mannheim Palace, surrounded by works of art and painting utensils. In a double-breasted bavaroy and Schiller collar, Kuntz is dressed according to the fashion of the time, while the open collar and stockings, which have slipped down somewhat carelessly, betray the artist as one who pays little heed to bourgeois dress code. On the other hand, the picture’s dramaturgy of light reveals the painter’s skill, with the incident light illuminating Kuntz’s face, and thus the center of the painting.