Portrait of an Alsatian woman

late 19c
Donation by Mme Catherine Steinmetz, February 2016
Stùb at Engwiller
Portrait de Marguerite Haas, fin 19e siècle, Photo : Mathieu Bertola – Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg

 

 

In the city

This portrait represents Marguerite Haas, born in 1876 in Uhrwiller, paternal grandmother of the donor, and was undoubtedly made from a photograph. She wears a knotted headdress and shawl, a costume then worn in this region.
This was a gift sent by her uncle and godfather, who had moved to New York. Like many Alsatians, several members of this family emigrated to become farmers in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century.
The painting was sent to Marguerite by post in an impressive golden frame, proof of the "American Uncle's" success and certainly meant to catch the eye of visitors coming into the living room (the Stùb).
Descendants of these emigrants from Alsace and the Upper Rhine still survive today, some speaking Germanic dialects close to Alsatian. The best known of these communities is that of the Amish in North America.

Portrait de Marguerite Haas, fin 19e siècle, Photo : Mathieu Bertola – Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg
Portrait de Marguerite Haas, fin 19e siècle, Photo : Mathieu Bertola – Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg