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He's regarded as the epitome of the genius misunderstood throughout his lifetime. In a letter dated 1855, Anselm Feuerbach wrote: "I have been called to things great, I know this. I will only find peace in death. I will always endure suffering, but my works will live on forever." He was only 26, he'd just become acquainted with the contemporary painting of the time in Antwerp and Paris, and he was now living in Italy, the land of his deepest yearning, where he was free to see the works of old masters like Titian in person. Over the decades that followed, Feuerbach developed his own personal style here, distilling his characteristic motifs from antiquity and the Renaissance. The results were portraits of introverted women painted on a neutral background, with a classical profile, long black tresses, and a melancholic gaze into the distance. Unnecessary details were avoided that might deflect the gaze from these women, whom Feuerbach seemed to have revered almost to the point of cultish adoration and who have lost none of their presence, even to this day.
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