Frédérique Émilie Auguste O'Connell

Frédérique Émilie Auguste O'Connell, whose name at birth was Emilie Friederike Auguste Miethe, was born in Potsdam on March 28, 1822[1] and died in Paris in 1885. A German painter and portraitist, her work was in vogue among the Parisian social set of the Second Empire.[2] Her works of engraving, rare and limited in number, were prized by the critics of the era. Nonetheless, she died forgotten as an artist.

Frédérique O'Connell
Self-Portrait, Etching drawn by Frédérique O'Connell, published by L'Artiste in 1879
Born
Emilie Friederike Auguste Miethe

(1822-03-28)March 28, 1822
Potsdam, Germany
DiedOctober 21, 1885(1885-10-21) (aged 63)
Paris, France
NationalityGerman
Known forPainting
MovementRomanticism
Spouse(s)Carl Joseph Begas
and Louis Gallait

Madame O'Connell is mentioned in the memoir of Irish pastel portraitist Henriett Corkran (1841/2- 1911) who recalled that O'Connell lived and worked in La Place Vintimille, in Paris. Miss Corkran, who wished to become one of O'Connell's pupils, described her as having a 'plain countenance ... redeemed by wonderful dark eyes, full of fire and intelligence'. Among the paintings Corkran observed in Madame O'Connell's studio were portraits of poet Théophile Gautier, author Alexandre Dumas and the social reformer le Père Enfantin. Corkran further recalls that O'Connell was 'interested in the rights of humanity, the liberty of women. [3]

Notes and references
  1. according to the baptism registry of the protestant parish St. Nikolai in Potsdam, volume 1822, no 65, page 477/478, archived in the Domstiftsarchiv of the Domstift Brandenburg
  2. "O'CONNELL, Frédérique Émilie Auguste". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010. B00132186.
  3. Corkran, Henriette (1902). Celebrities and I. London: Hutchinson & Co. pp. 115–26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.