The Singer Henrietta Grosserová as Norma, study

At the turn of the 1840s and 1850s Navrátil did several portrait studies of outstanding representatives of the Czech theatre. Henrietta was prima donna at the Prague opera from 1837 to 1850 and Norma was one her greatest successes. The colour scheme of this small intimate study with its unrestrained brushwork is reduced to brown, black and white tones, with many half-tones that create a subtle colour composition. The realism of this brilliant study anticipated the art of the next generation.