Wilhelm Maria Hubertus Leibl and Farm Girl With A White Head Scarf

'Farm Girl With A White Head Scarf' (1876) by Wilhelm Maria Hubertus
 Leib; Neue Pinakothek, Munich

Not much to choose from today but that made it easier and I found German painter Wilhelm Leibl, born on 23 October 1844, very quickly. He was a Realist painter of portraits and scenes of peasant life. He was one of the most prominent German Realists of the late 19th century. He studied at the Munich Academy and went to Paris to work with Gustave Courbet. His style was in opposition to the Romantic naturalism dominant in Germany at the time. He was an admirer of Dutch old masters and painted with thick brush strokes against dark backgrounds. Apparently, Leibl started to work immediately with colour, without any preliminary sketching, and this resembled the working method of the Impressionists. I quite like his portraits, like the one shown here today. Beautiful colours, and although many of Leibl's paintings are rather dark, this one has a light background and the white scarf makes it a light painting as well. The face looks so fresh like she just came from outside, working the land, with a healthy blush on her cheeks.