Anna Maria von Huttern

When an artist is commissioned to paint the portrait of a lady of substance and position, he endeavours to render not only her beauty, but also to reflect her importance. This was the case with Anna Maria von Huttern, wife of the mayor of Sibiu, whose portrait Johann Martin Stock painted in 1787, when she was about to embark on a journey to Cluj, as we find out in the inscription: „Bey meiner Abreise nach Klausenburg 1787”. Dressed in a stylish brocade dress of Viennese fashion adorned with precious lace and with the ever present bunch of flowers, she poses in an aristocratic attitude. In the background, the artist introduces topographic and architectural elements from the village of Gusterita situated on the outskirts of Sibiu. The effects of light filtered through the clouds open the landscape and enhance the depth of the composition – a line characteristic of the Baroque. The composition is also an expression of the Baroque philosophy: the pleasure of seizing the moment. ©Iulia Mesea, Galeria de Artă Românească.Ghid, Sibiu 2011.