JOHANN JULIUS HEINSIUS (1740-1812)

Portrait of a Woman (1781)

Canvas 65,5 x 54 cm

Private collection

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Very little is known about this German portraitist, he has been erroneously confused with his elder brother Johann Ernst Heinsius (1731-1794); the confusion still persists to the point that several paintings by Ernst have been attributed to Julius and viceversa. The problem stems from the fact that both brothers learnt their trade from their father  Johann Christian Heintz (v. 1706-1756), a rather mediocre painter, hence the similarity in their style. Both brothers Latinized their surname, obviously out of snobishness, becoming known as Heinsius.

Julius was born in Weimar, his family moved in 1752 to the Netherlands where he studied under a local painter in The Hague where he became a memeber of the painters´s guild. He set up a studio there and later moved to Utrecht. From 1772 to 1779 he was working at the court of Weimar. In 1779 he decided to try his luck in France, moving to Versailles. He worked in pastels and oils and was very successful to the point of being appointed Premier Peintre des Mesdames de France (First Painter to the Daughters of the King of France). When the Revolution broke up he fled to Orleans where he remained until the end of his life. He continued painting and exhibiting at the Salons.

We do not know the identity of this lady. The portrait suggests a sympathetic relation between the artist and the sitter, Heinsius has captured the lady’s warm, affectionate nature with a skill reminiscent of his great contemporary Alexandre Roslin (1718-1793) The sfumato on her hair and the semi-transparent chemise that she is wearing shows Heinsius consummate skill.