What movement is Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George?

Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George

Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George is a crayon drawing by the Romanticist artist John Vanderlyn. It dates from 1799 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

A woman in a high-waisted dress sits on a sofa, holding a small boy who leans against her.

A woman in a high-waisted dress sits on a sofa, holding a small boy who leans against her. The room is simple, curtains, a chair, a plain wall.

This drawing was made in 1799, just after the American Revolution. Vanderlyn was one of the first U.S. artists to train in Europe, and you can see it in the soft shading. The lines are light, almost like a sketch, but the faces feel real.

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Subject & Meaning

Executed in 1799, this work functions as a dual portrait depicting Anna Church Strobel, the wife of Daniel Strobel Jr., alongside her son, George. The composition focuses entirely on the figural representation of the mother and child, utilizing the medium of conté crayon on off-white wove paper to render their likenesses. As a genre piece classified strictly as a portrait, the drawing serves as a direct visual record of these specific individuals rather than an allegorical scene laden with complex external symbolism.

The image captures the subjects in a manner consistent with late eighteenth-century portraiture, emphasizing their identity and familial connection through straightforward depiction.

Technique & Style

Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George is executed as a drawing, probably in conté crayon on off-white wove paper. The medium is qualified as "probably" conté crayon, indicating some uncertainty in the attribution of the drawing material. As a portrait drawing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, the work is a two-dimensional sheet-based composition on a wove paper support, depicting a woman and a boy in a portrait format.

The conté crayon medium is well suited to the soft tonal modeling and subtle gradations characteristic of late-eighteenth-century portrait draftsmen, allowing for blended half-tones on the slightly textured surface of off-white wove paper. No information on condition, handling history, or specific stylistic descriptors is provided in the available sources.

History & Provenance

John Vanderlyn created the portrait of Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and her son, George, in 1799. The work is executed in conté crayon on off-white wove paper. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified under the American Wing.

The drawing Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection in New York. It is cataloged under the accession number 17.134.3. The work has been part of the museum's exhibition titled "American Drawings, 1799–1835," which was displayed in the American Wing galleries.

The piece was first listed in the museum's records in 1799 as part of the American Wing's portrait genre holdings.

Overview

John Vanderlyn’s portrait, dated around 1799, presents Anna Church Strobel, identified as Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr., together with her young son George. Executed in a delicate medium, likely Conté crayon on off‑white wove paper, the work belongs to the American Wing collection and offers a quiet domestic scene from the early Republic era.

Context

At the turn of the nineteenth century, American artists such as Vanderlyn began to adopt European academic methods, integrating them with local subjects. This portrait exemplifies that synthesis, depicting a private domestic moment with the refined technique associated with continental academies.