Portrait of Henriette von Holzhausen 1789

Georg Karl Urlaub painted this portrait of Henriette von Holzhausen in oil on canvas. It captures the sitter in a verdant garden, her elaborate dress and powdered wig marking her as a woman of means. The image offers a window into the social customs and class divisions of its time. Henriette’s dress and accoutrements speak to a life of leisure afforded by her social position, with the accoutrements of cultivated nature as a backdrop. The setting and her attire suggest a self-conscious performance of status, meant to communicate a particular image of refinement and gentility. As art historians, we can study portraits like these to understand how social identities were constructed and negotiated through visual representation. Resources like historical fashion plates, estate records, and social histories can provide further insight into the life and times of Henriette von Holzhausen, helping us to interpret the painting’s meaning within its original social context.