Where can I see The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife?

The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife?

The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife is associated with Biedermeier.

Can I buy a print of The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife?

Museum-quality prints of The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller , 1824

The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife is an oil painting by the Biedermeier artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. It dates from 1824 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The flower serves as a key iconographic element, suggesting themes of love, purity, or the harmonious union of scholarly pursuits with domestic life.

The painting portrays the cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner seated beside his wife, who holds a flower in her hand. The flower serves as a key iconographic element, suggesting themes of love, purity, or the harmonious union of scholarly pursuits with domestic life. By depicting Jüttner alongside his spouse, the work symbolizes the partnership between intellectual endeavor and personal companionship, reflecting early-19th-century ideals of marital harmony and the integration of science within the private sphere.

Technique & Style

Created in 1824, this portrait is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel support. The work measures 40.5 cm in height and 32.5 cm in width. As a product of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller's early career, the painting exhibits the precise handling and detailed finish characteristic of his portraiture from this period.

The composition depicts the subject, Professor Josef Jüttner, alongside floral elements, rendered with the clarity typical of the artist's technique on wood. The medium and support contribute to the work's structural integrity and visual definition, preserving the fine details of the sitter's attire and the accompanying botanical subjects.

History & Provenance

The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife is an oil-on-wood portrait painted in 1824 by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. The work first appears in a 1900 Wawra auction in Vienna (sale no. 204) and subsequently belonged to Dr. Hermann and Dr. Gottfried Eissler of Vienna by 1908. A further sale at Wawra in March 1917 (no. 165) transferred ownership, after which the painting was held in Switzerland before being purchased in the 1970s by John and Paul Herring of New York.

It later entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains. Its precise accession or inventory number is not specified in the sources examined, and no exhibition history is recorded beyond these ownership changes.

Overview

This oil painting on wood, titled The Cartographer Professor Josef Jüttner and His Wife, depicts a domestic scene. It portrays a man deeply engrossed in his professional work, seated beside a woman who holds a flower. The composition conveys a sense of tranquility, highlighting the quiet interaction and individual pursuits within a shared space.