Elisabeth Büchsel: Truding

• 1916, oil on canvas;
  height: 118 cm

The girl in the painting gazes patiently and respectfully at 'Aunt Büchsel'. Her hands planted on a protruding section of masonry and bathed in sharp sunlight, Truding stretches her body expectantly toward the artist. The bright sunlight reflects off the white surfaces of the wall and the child's clothing, producing an explosion in pink – a perfect example of impressionist painting.

Elisabeth Büchsel (1867-1957) is born the daughter of a Stralsund tailor, who fosters her artistic talents from an early age. A successful portrait painter even as a young girl, she moves to Berlin in 1888 and from there to Munich and Paris to study under various artists. She sojourns on the island of Hiddensee each summer from 1904. Her grand themes emerge during these times: people, landscape, light. She creates motifs of the island and its inhabitants for over fifty years, and her extensive oeuvre also includes vistas of her home town. Sensitive portraits, especially of children, demonstrate the love and understanding she felt for the common people.