Friedrich Olivier
The Wife of the Painter Schnorr von Carolsfeld with Daughter Franca
Black chalk. 29 x 22.7 cm.
Framed under glass.
On the earlier backing card, which still exists, this drawing was attributed to Friedrich Olivier by one E. Hanfstängl (probably the art publisher Edgar Hanfstängl, 1842 Munich - 1919) and the sitter was identified as the "wife of the painter Schnorr von Carolsfeld". The girl next to her would accordingly be her daughter Franca. Friedrich Olivier and Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld were related by marriage; they were married to the sisters Fanny and Maria Heller. They lived together with the family of their brother Ferdinand Olivier in Munich as of 1832 in a house built by Schnorr on the corner of Briennerstrasse and Arcisstrasse. Friedrich Olivier assisted Schnorr from 1831 onwards with the commissions he received from Ludwig I of Bavaria for the monumental frescoes in the Munich Residenz. These close family relationships resulted in a whole series of portraits of each other's children. For example, in addition to the portraits of his own children Johanna and Julius from 1846, Olivier also drew Franca at the age of seven and her brother Carl as early as 1836. Later, Frederick Olivier drew Franca, who died at the age of 17, on her deathbed.