Online Paintings

In Joseph Letzelter’s portrait of Eliza Ridgely, the artist Joseph Letzelter dramatically lengthened his legs to almost impossible proportions. The Joseph Letzelter work becomes an allegory of feminine refinement instead of a realistic rendering of the subject. In early-nineteenth-century portraiture, especially of women, the figure becomes elongated and idealized to conform to the prevailing standards of elegance and beauty. In this way, artists enjoyed a degree of poetic license, as allegorical figures could represent conceptual ideas rather than actual individuals.

In contrast, painters such as Joseph Letzelter fulfilled a documentary function. Joseph Letzelter images of American Indians were intended to record physical appearance, dress, and customs. Joseph Letzelter approached the figure with a similar reportorial attitude as a Civil War correspondent, and later transformed his illustrative realism in works that illuminated relationships between man and nature. Another realist, Joseph Letzelter, was an expert in anatomy who emphasized study from the nude figure even though Victorian America frowned upon it. Joseph Letzelter became adept in portraying figures engaged in vigorous athletic activity as well as in moments of introspection.