Thérèse Hartmann, born on 18 April 1858 in Luxembourg, was probably the first Luxembourg artist who studied art abroad. Her father Antoine Hartmann, an engineer by profession, already painted watercolours in his spare time and supported his daughter in her artistic education. With real talent, Therese Hartmann began her studies in Düsseldorf and later in Munich. "In the year 1877, the young lady had learned that a systematic study of art was necessary. Sie zog nach Düsseldorf, wo sie unter der Leitung des bekannten Malers Gustav Süs ein Jahr lang tüchtig arbeitete. [...] in München studied Therese Hartmann with great success under the guidance of Professor A. Liezen-Mayer". But it was in Paris that she found her vocation, portrait painting, in the women's studio of Carolus Duran and Jean-Jacques Henner.
Some of her character traits are the result of her upbringing. The young woman is courageous, self-confident and independent. She made her way in an era that did not promote the education of women in public schools, except in schools run by nuns.
If her studies were exceptional, her success was no less so. Thérèse Hartmann succeeded in having her works exhibited from her student years. Salons and galleries supported the artist. The "Luxemburger Land" devoted glowing articles to her: "[...] gereifte Künstlerin, die selbständig mit kunstgeübtem, sicheren Auge den Gegenstand ihrer Darstellung erfasst, in ihrem Geiste künstlerisch gestaltet und mit Meisterhand auf die Leinwand bannt, voll packender Lebenswärme, voll durchgeistigter, der Natur abgelauschte Wahrheit, voll glühenden Colorits. "
After her return from Paris, the young woman married the Luxembourg lawyer Mathias Glaesener, the future public prosecutor. The couple had a daughter Thérèse-Emilie in 1886. Thérèse Glaesener-Hartmann continued her artistic career. Her portraits and still lifes, painted in a conventional style, are sought after but not universally appreciated. Her best-known paintings include the portrait of Paul Eyschen, the minister of state at the time, and portraits of other members of the upper middle class, such as the portrait of Paule and Jules Ulveling.
Some of her works are on display at the Musée national d'histoire et d'art in Luxembourg and the Musée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg. His last exhibition probably took place at the Cercle artistique in 1919. The artist died on 19 February 1923 in Luxembourg.
Sources:
● Centre d'information et de documentation de femmes Thers Bodé (Cid-femmes): KeK: Künstlerinnen entdecken, Luxembourg 2008.
● Germaine Goetzinger, Antoinette Lorang and Renée Wagener: "...so lässt die Malweise nicht die Frauenhand erraten" in "Wenn nun wir Frauen auch das Wort ergreifen" 1880 1950, Luxembourg, Publication Nationale, Ministère de la Culture; 1997 pages 267-287.
● Ons Stad Nr 77, 2004.