Anton Romako (1832-1889) Portrait of Mathilde Stern, née Porges, c. 1886 Oil on canvas, 100 x 73 cm Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna

The typical features of Romako's art, namely a style of painting which dissolved form and accentuated draughtsmanship, are also evident in this picture. The Portrait of Mathilde Stern, the wife of the Viennese neurologist, Professor Samuel Stern, was also known as 'Lady in Spanish Costume'. In comparison with the art of Hans Makart, in which harmony and Dionysian beauty was central, Romako's work reveals the contradictory spirit prevalent at the turn of the century, characterised as it was by social upheaval and stylistic pluralism in art.