Published by Hatje Cantz. Edited with text by Alexander Eiling, Eva-Maria Höllerer. Text by Sandra Gianfreda, Barbara Rök, Iris Schmeisser.
Despite falling into obscurity after her death, German-Swiss artist Ottilie W. Roederstein (1859–1937) enjoyed success as one of the leading painters in the German-speaking world during her lifetime. Roederstein was able to support herself financially with sales and commissions before the age of 30. She exhibited internationally until 1931, participating in landmark shows such as the Académie des Beaux-Arts’ Salon and the 1889 Exposition Universelle. Roederstein successfully dedicated her entire life to art and led an unconventional but respected existence in Germany with her partner, the gynecologist Elisabeth H. Winterhalter. After several decades, the Kunsthaus Zürich and the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main finally present the first monograph on Roederstein’s remarkable body of work.
In the pages of this publication readers are able to appreciate the evolution of Roederstein’s style, from an early adherence to the academy’s conventions to a later style characterized by a unique austerity.
