Julius Lange

JULIUS LANGE (Darmstadt, 1817 - Munich, 1878).
"Portrait of Meta Phal".
Oil on canvas.
Signed I. Lange 1858 lower right.
In good condition, cracked by age.
Measurements: 68 x 55,5 cm; 88 x 74 cm (frame).
Portrait of a woman in a black dress with white lace border, mounted with a cameo brooch. She wears golden earrings and a necklace with a cross pendant. According to the label on the reverse, this is a Portrait of Meta Phal (née Ulrich), wife of the notary Ludwig Phal, (b. 1837), mother of Ludwig (Louis) Pfahl (b. 1867), grandmother of Dr. Ludwig Pfahl (b. 1898), great-grandmother of Annemarie Pfahl (b. 1927).
Julius Lange studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, becoming a pupil of Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, who supported him so that he could settle in Munich. His artistic ability led him to produce works for important institutions such as the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia or the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, in Milan. He also sought contacts at court and served as art instructor to the Archduchess Charlotte of Belgium until 1858. He painted several works for both King Maximilian II of Bavaria and his son Ludwig II of Bavaria, as well as interior design studies for the royal palaces at Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof.