Bust of a woman

Amerling was staying in Rome when the emperor Francis recalled him to Vienna in 1832 in order to commission a representative portrait from him. Subsequently, he became a successful portraitist to the Viennese court and to the monarchy's aristocracy. Due to the detailed richness and refined accuracy of his portraits he became a model for one of the popular artistic genres of Biedermeier. Compared to his representative portraits of the aristocracy, this Portrait of a Woman shows a more informal rendition, with a less standoffish pose.