Thérèse Hartmann was born into a family of architects and artists living in the capital of Luxembourg. Her father, Antoine Hartmann, an architect and watercolourist, gave her her first painting lessons. Encouraged by him, she decided to study art abroad when she was barely twenty years old. Possibly inspired by Grand Duchess Adélaïde-Marie, she spent, as her, some time in Düsseldorf in 1877, then studied in Munich (1879-1880) and finally in Paris (1883 and 1884) (Lorang 273). After studying abroad for five years, a privilege for a woman at the time, she returned to Luxembourg where she married Mathias Glaesener (1858-1924), a lawyer and later a councillor at the Supreme Court of Justice. Her father-in-law was the famous Jean-Pierre Glaesener (1831-1901), author of the important work Le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg historique et pittoresque published in 1885. Thérèse Hartmann probably received payment for the numerous portrait commissions that she carried out (Lorang 276). Even after the birth of her daughter in 1886, she continued her career as an artist for more than thirty years. She also had a son, who died at the age of eleven.

The artist devoted her talent mainly to painting, though to a lesser extent, she was also active in the field of applied arts. Her work is characterised by a realistic, sometimes Romantic style, whereas later, she adopted the spirit of Art Nouveau. First and foremost, she was a portrait painter of her time. However, she also painted landscapes, interiors and still lifes. Most of her works were signed and dated in a highly systematic and explicit manner (“Thse G-H. cop.1901”), including her art copies, such as La Vierge et l'Enfant Jésus et l'ange Jean-Baptiste, a 16th-century copy of an Italian school painting by Giulio Romano (c. 1492-1499), one of the first Mannerist artists of the Renaissance, dated 1901.

Hartmann’s portraits depict more men than women. She portrayed her sitters accurately in their character and attributes, sometimes with a touch of irony. Most of them originated from Luxembourg's high society, from the family, or they were friends and acquaintances from her father's and husband's professional circles. Among the numerous portraits of famous men, we can mention the Portrait de Michel Jonas (1822-1884), an influential politician, and that of his wife, Portrait de Mme Marie Jonas-Hastert. In her portraits of women, the atmosphere is softer and less rigid, as can be illustrated by the Portrait de Madame F. Jacques, née Sophie Hartmann from 1892, in which the artist has staged her sitter in light grey tones, with a setting and background matching the dress. This portrait bears a very prominent signature in the upper right-hand corner of the composition, signed and dated “Thérèse-Glaesener-Hartmann. 1892”. In most cases, her female sitters were ‘respectable women’ of advanced age, such as Madame Salentiny, whose portrait dates from 1902 (Lorang 277). In a large painting from 1913 entitled Portrait de Julie Graf, épouse de Victor Rischard, the artist depicted, in a very balanced composition, the elegant wife of a councillor at the Supreme Court of Justice in fashionable Art Nouveau-inspired clothing (dress, hat, jewellery, fur).

A reference to Art Nouveau style can also be interpreted into her work Intérieur (“Le Sien”) of 1902, in which we see her studio with her palette, her easel and, hanging in the background, the portrait of her son and her self-portrait. In the latter, she depicts herself as a painter with a palette in her hand, in a very determined posture (Hirsch 188). This setting combines elements of the Art Nouveau style, highlighting growing organisms (flowers), the importance of light (glass roof), of nature, but also the woman (and her education) at the centre of the composition, with a symbolic and literary content. More exceptional is the fact that a link to Art Nouveau style can also be perceived in works of foreign pewter foundries and created by other artisans, such as an oval platter. It had been engraved by Glaesener-Hartmann in 1909, citing the speech held by Minister Paul Eyschen (1841-1915) commemorating the inauguration of the Dicks-Lentz monument. The artist also created two portraits of the minister posthumously, one signed in 1916 and the other entitled Paul Eyschen, Ministre d'État, prononçant un discours.

The artist's work was first presented at the ‘gallery’ Segers in 1882, when she was still a student (Lorang 275). Thereafter, her works were on permanent display at the same location, which was really a glass and picture frame shop. From 1894 to 1916, she exhibited more or less regularly at the Salons du Cercle artistique de Luxembourg (CAL).

Her husband's status allowed Glaesener-Hartmann to move in privileged circles, where she portrayed various personalities, including H.R.H. Princess Henri of the Netherlands in 1879. In Düsseldorf, she worked for a year under the painter Gustav Süs (1823-1881); in Munich, she studied under Professor Alexander von Liezen-Mayer (1839-1898). In Paris, she attended the studio of Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran (1838-1917) and Jean-Jacques Henner (1829-1905) (Archive Jean-Pierre Glaesener), both accessible to female painters. The brothers Michel and Nicolas Weyler from Ettelbruck painted at the workshop of Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran (1838-1917) at the same time (Lorang 286). Along with Adélaïde Marie Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Anne Pescatore and Marguertite Thyes, Glaesener-Hartmann was one of the first female artists to exhibit regularly at the Salon du CAL (Lorang 270).

Glaesener-Hartmann is represented in two public collections, the Musée national d’archéologie, d'histoire et d’art (MNAHA) and Les 2 Musées de la Ville de Luxembourg, as well as in several private collections.

The glazier and framer Louis Segers played a decisive role in the development of her career in her native country by giving her the opportunity to showcase her paintings in his ‘gallery’ (a salesroom) with a first ‘exhibition’ in 1882. The reviews that subsequently appeared in the Luxemburger Land aroused the interest of the general public in the artist, notably “with her brilliant conception of the subject, her masterly draughtsmanship and her great skill in colouring” (Luxemburger Land, 14.10.1883 quoted in Lorang 275, free translation). The influence of Carolus-Duran on Glaesener-Hartmann's painting style was mentioned in the press for the first time in 1884 (Moes quoted in Lorang 277). During her lifetime, she was above all recognised for the quality of her portraits, especially of men. Some of her portraits of women are described as having "(…) somewhat harsh outlines (…) however, the colours of the sitters’ features are fresh and clear and testify to a good artistic training, ensuring her serious praise" ("Beaux-Arts." L'Indépendance luxembourgeoise 08.09.1896, free translation). In 1905, the historian Antoine Hirsch paid tribute to her in his important work on female painters of his time (Die bildenden Künstlerinnen der Neuzeit 186-190). He emphasised the influence of the two Parisian artists, Carolus-Duran and Henner, on the work of Glaesener-Hartmann, in regards to her use of colour. He further highlighted her sensitivity to decoration. Glaesener-Hartmann later turned to plein air painting, which enriched her palette with a range of light shades (Hirsch 190). In addition to this statement, in her 1997 study on women painters in Luxembourg and their acknowledgement, the historian Antoinette Lorang, described the artist's personality as that of “a demanding and confident young woman” who enjoyed early success and a certain posthumous recognition (Lorang 270, 272, free translation). Indeed, in 1939, her name ("Glaesener-Hartmann Mme, artiste-peintre") appeared on the list of artists selected by Michel Stoffel, the President of the CAL, for the "Centenary events" which, however, did not take place ("Exposition rétrospective de l'art luxembourgeois" 4). Since then, her work has featured in the most important retrospectives of Luxembourg art:  Cent ans de peinture luxembourgeoise: 1800-1900 in 1949, 150 ans d'art luxembourgeois au Musée national d'histoire et d'art in 1989 and La représentation de la femme dans la peinture luxembourgeoise (jusqu’en 1945) in 1981, to name a few. In the latter’s exhibition catalogue, she was given a special mention by the author Gaston Holzmacher for "the most touching portrait of a man from Luxembourg: Eyschen. Painted with infinite sympathy and a touch of irony, Eyschen vibrates with life" (Braun-Breck 12, free translation). In 2004, Linda Eischen pointed out how exceptional the Glaesener-Hartmann’s career was for a female artist of her time (13). Finally, as a mark of national recognition, two streets in Luxembourg were named after Glaesener-Hartmann, one of them in Luxembourg City and the other in Suessem (Beck 50). Although Glaesener-Hartmann is not listed in the extensive 2024 exhibition catalogue of Jean-Jacques Henner’s female students, their educational relation has been confirmed and she will be included in the list of these students in the future (Abillard et al.).

In the history of art in Luxembourg, Glaesener-Hartmann is one of the first woman artists to have been acknowledged and recognised in her native country during her lifetime. She was particularly sought after for her portraits. The quality of her work was, in my opinion, comparable to that of her artistic predecessor Jean-Baptiste Fresez. As for me, her talent as a portrait painter at the beginning of her career was characterised by a very realistic representation of her sitter’s features, showing precision down to the smallest detail. Later, following the trends of her time, she developed a less classical, brighter and more colourful painting style, with an increasingly light brushstroke, sometimes in the spirit of Art Nouveau.

WORKS CITED  

Abillard, Marie, Éléonore Dérisson, Eva-Maria Höller et al. Elles. Les élèves de Jean-Jacques Henner. Paris : Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner, 2024. Exhibition catalogue.

Beck, Simone, "Was bedeuten die Straßennamen der Stadt!" Ons Stad April 2018: Ville de Luxembourg, 2018, 50. Accessed 23.03.2019.

Braun-Breck, Lotty, et al. La représentation de la femme dans la peinture luxembourgeoise (jusqu'en 1945): Exposition organisée à La Galerie d'art Municipale (Villa Vauban) du 13 novembre au 13 décembre 1981. Luxembourg: Ville De Luxembourg, 1981. Exhibition catalogue.

Hirsch, Anton. Die bildenden Künstlerinnen der Neuzeit. Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke, 1905, p.186-190. Print.

Lorang, Antoinette. "... so lässt ihre Malweise nicht die Frauenhand errathen‘ : Frauen in der Geschichte der Luxemburger Kunst". Goetzinger, Germaine, Lorang, Antoinette, Wagener, Renée (éd.) „Wenn nun wir Frauen auch das Wort ergreifen…“ : Frauen in Luxemburg 1880-1950. Luxembourg: Publications nationales du Ministère de la Culture, 1997, p.267–287. Print.

Moes, Jean-Nicolas. Das Luxemburger Land 31.08.1884: 560. Print.

No Author. "Beaux-Arts." L'Indépendance luxembourgeoise 08.09.1896 : n. pag. Print.

Eischen, Linda. "Les femmes dans l’art luxembourgeois." Ons Stad Dec. 2004 : 13. Print.

"Exposition rétrospective de l’art luxembourgeois." Luxemburger Wort 22.08.1939 : 4. Print.

Archive Jean-Pierre Glaesener (1831-1901) (A.VII.59. G.III.16). N.d. Manuscript. Personal collection of Marie-Françoise Glaesener.