Portrait of Ludemille Magdalene von Gotter née Happe

In 1723, Kupecký left for Nuremberg where he worked for the Duke of Gotha, the Elector of Mainz, but also for patricians, merchants, craftsmen and scientists. In 1725, during his sojourn in Gotha, Kupecký painted the Portrait of Ludemille Magdalene von Gotter née Happe (1672?1735) and her husband Johann Michael von Gotter. Dating from that same period is a study for the later-executed portrait of their thirty-three-year-old son, Imperial Count Gustav Adolf von Gotter (Historisches Museum, Bamberg). Kupecký’s painting style gradually changed, assuming a simplicity verging on austerity that better suited the Protestant perception of the world. He used a limited colour palette and focused particularly on capturing the expressions of the portrayed figures. The Portrait of Ludemille Magdalene von Gotter is a superb example of his output from this period.