The artist

Painting was not only Cécile Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s greatest pleasure; she also had a special gift for it. It was also very well suited to her temperament. Being reserved and rather introverted, she was able to immerse herself fully in her work without having to make much conversation. Even professional artists were impressed by her ability: Eduard Magnus – who painted the portraits of quite a few members of the Mendelssohn family – wanted some of her drawings of flowers for himself.

The family nurtured her talent and arranged for her to study with the landscape artist and copperplate engraver Anton Radl, who taught her all of the techniques she required. She took classes with him from the early months of her marriage until she moved to Leipzig. As well as creating pencil drawings and watercolours, she also enjoyed painting in oils. Only one of the many oil paintings she completed, namely a landscape of Ticino probably painted in 1851, is in public ownership and thus widely accessible; her other works included landscapes of Lake Geneva, the Amalfi Coast, a view of Lurgenstein’s garden from her Leipzig home, and much more besides.

She even astounded her husband, who was himself a very accomplished artist and a great connoisseur of the arts: “… I had far too low an opinion of her talent; since she painted an album leaf for Mme. Benedicks, I have recognised that she can go far indeed and that she has a rare sense of colour and paints with the greatest effortlessness and perception.” During their honeymoon, they kept a journal together which they illustrated richly with drawings.

Nor did Cécile neglect painting in the further course of their marriage. She usually gifted her works to members of her family or displayed them as part of the substantial collection in their gallery at home. She loved nature and practised reproducing flowers and leaves with great precision; her attention to detail is reminiscent of botanical illustrations.

With her incredibly fine brushstrokes, she illustrated album bindings and created tiny works of art as decorations for visiting card holders. After Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s death, it was in painting that she found solace and which helped the hours of sadness to pass more easily.