Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner in the early 1930s

On a stable panel. Two 1/8 inch horiztonal scratches to right of hat. Under UV: Varnish fluoresces unevenly.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kaufmann's work demonstrates the connection to his faith; more than any other artist of his generation, he vividly captured the essence of the religious Jews of eastern provinces in dignified settings. Though Kaufmann lived in Vienna with all the urban comforts available to an artist of great reputation and wealth, his summer visits to Eastern European shtetls allowed him to observe a culture which was part of his heritage but not his everyday life. During these excursions, Kaufmann documented ethnological, architectural and religious traditions that would soon disappear.  Returning to his studio, the artist used his travel sketches to maintain an immediacy of expression in his painted work, particularly his small-scale portraits. Many of Kaufmann's small panels of the 1880s were intricately detailed compositions filled with the trappings of Viennese bourgeois interiors. Such props and elaborate settings are absent in the present portrait as well as the Portrait of a Young Boy with Peyot (lot 31), and Portrait of a Rabbi with Tallit (lot 32), the artist's continued mastery of painting on miniature scale is in ample evidence. All visual distractions removed, the man's solemn face comprises the entire composition, the shoulders covered by his rekelech and valuable fur-trimmed streimel  the only "decoration". In its minute focus on the individ🔯ual, recording each nuanced detail from roughened skin to the fine hairs of the subject's eyebrows, Kaufmann's work alludes to Europe🎶's portrait miniature tradition, which flourished in the sixteenth century and continued through the nineteenth. Prior to the popularization of photography, such diminutive works, painted on ivory, porcelain or similar smooth, hard surfaces, were especially useful in introducing people to each other over distances, or as mementos.