Carl Staël von Holstein, attr., Portrait of a Gentleman Knee-length portrait of a distinguished young man with fine facial features en face, before wall panelling and lavishly patterned olive-green damask wallpaper, in a fur-trimmed green coat with black trimmings, probably a self-portrait of the 29-year-old painter who died young, the artist was present from 16 September 1838 at the "XXX. Kunstausstellung der Königlichen Akademie der Künste ... Berlin", on page 122 of the exhibition catalogue (copies enclosed) the present painting is probably listed as follows "Carl von Stael-Holstein, from Liefland, pupil of Mr [Mr] Prof. Wach. ... 1443 - Life-size portrait; the like [of the same] ...", the necrology notes of the artist "... The deceased possessed an honourable character, an excellent disposition, a chivalrous spirit, a rare amiability in his manners, a fine social tact and as much scientific education as is necessary to participate in the progress of the times with the usual literary means in German, French and English, even in seclusion. ...", upper left coat of arms of the Staël von Holstein family with eight red balls along the edge of the coat of arms, flanking crest and crest decoration, fine academic portrait painting with excellently captured materiality and beautiful light, oil on canvas, dated "1838" lower right, unsigned, old label on the reverse of the canvas with coat of arms and inscription "C. Stael von Holstein" and handwritten date "1838", English stamp of the canvas manufacturer "T BROWN - 163 High Holborn - London" on the reverse, minimally retouched by old, fine craquelure, large areas with tiny losses of colour, minor restoration, framed in Wilhelminian style molding, dimensions approx. 94.5 x 66 cm. Artist information: actually Carl Johann Stael von Holstein, also Carl von Staël-Holstein, Russian "Карл фон Стель-Хольштейи" or "Карл фон Сталь-Гольштейн", German-Baltic portrait and genre painter (1809 Paixt or Paikis, later Staelenhof Kreis Pärnu [Engl. Pernau] to 1854 Tartu [German: Dorpat]), deaf-mute from birth, he received his first encouragement in his parents' home in Paixt, later trained at the St. Petersburg Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and finally at the Deaf and Dumb Institute in St. Petersburg. Petersburg and finally at the deaf-mute institute in Berlin, where his talent as a painter was recognised, whereupon he became a pupil of the royal Prussian court painter Karl Wilhelm Wach (1787-1845) in Berlin from 1829, attended the Berlin academy exhibition in 1834-40, probably married the British Louise von Londner from the House of Westminster in Berlin, returned to the Baltic states in 1835 or after 1840, worked as a painter there, died after a long illness, source: Thieme-Becker, Saur "Bio-Bibliographisches Künstlerlexikon", Nagler, Genealogienet, Alevtina Baroness Stael von Holstein on website for genealogical research of the Stael von Holstein family, catalogues of the Berlin Academy exhibition and necrology in "Das Innland - eine Wochenschrift für Liv-, Ehst- und Kurlands Geschichte, Geographie, Statistik und Literatur" from 19.04.1854.