Object Description
This pair of portraits are of oval form, and depict the half-length figures of a young boy and girl. The boy has fair, shoulder-length hair and wears a white shirt and green-lined brown overcoat. He turns to his right and gazes off into the distance. The boy’s portrait is positioned before a brown background, while the girl’s is set against light grey. She has long, dark hair and brown eyes, which she directs out at the viewer. The girl wears a white, red and gold outfit.
When viewed close-up, it is possible to see how the artist has used fine, well-blended brushstrokes to capture the detail of the faces. The figures’ eyelashes, for instance, have been carefully delineated.
The paintings are set within velvet and giltwood frames, with carved acanthus leaf borders. ‘G.W.S.’, the artist’s signature, is signed in the lower right of the girl’s portrait, and the back of both panels are stamped with a sceptre, ‘KPM / G’. KPM, or Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur, was a highly-successful porcelain factory, which was based in Berlin, Germany. The ‘G’ refers to ‘Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky’, who founded a porcelain factory that served as the forebear for the KPM. KPM porcelain wares are now highly sought after by collectors.