Carl Vogel, Girl, 1857

In the picture is a full-length depicted girl. The girl is sitting on the grass, a brighter, blue sky opens above her. She is dressed in a green dress with a narrow paw and a wide skirt, underneath the white lace lower skirt, and in a white transparent blouse with short sleeves and a wide cut. She had white socks with a red tape and narrow black shoes, reaching to the ankles. A necklace of fine coral balls around her neck, and a small gold ear in the ears. In her lap with both hands she holds a knit basket full of tiny colourful flowers, which also appears on the grass on the left. The girl’s face is sad, her look is serious, her lips pressed into a sponge. A precisely painted image with many carefully selected details confirms that a portrait is in front of us. Alleged portrait of Urša Trpin.

The painting is signed and dated to the left edge: C. Vogel, 1857. Very little is known about the painter, since it is only known that he was born in Vienna in 1820 and lived in Graz in 1856. According to the painted and the works that are also kept by the National Museum of Slovenia and the Regional Museum of Maribor, it is not disputed that he was probably a traveling painter and among the best authors of portraits of the time in the Austrian monarchy.

The painting was a commercial object in the 19th century and not just a representative shield. It was smaller in shape and thus satisfied the taste of the bourgeois client and added the equipment of the living room. Above all, these kinds of images were shining with detailed feeding of the tangible world at a time when there was no photo.