Gertrud "Traute" Steinthal, later known as Traute Thomine (1 May 1868 – 20 February 1906), was a German-born painter active in Berlin and Paris during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Specializing primarily in portraiture, she exhibited in major German and French venues including the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung and the Société des Artistes Français. After relocating to Paris in 1899, she expanded her practice to include religious and classical subjects. Her career was cut short by her death at the age of thirty-seven.
Early life and education
editSteinthal was born in Berlin on 1 May 1868 to Jewish parents. She was the daughter of Gustav Steinthal (1825–1895), a banker from a long-established Berlin family, and Jenny Brück (1835–1902), originally from Poland. She was the youngest of five children; two siblings died in early childhood.[1]
Because women were not admitted to the Akademie der Künste in Berlin until 1919, Steinthal pursued private artistic training. Artist dictionaries identify her as a student of Karl Gussow (1843–1907), Franz Skarbina (1849–1910), and Karl Stauffer-Bern (1857–1891).[2] In 1893 she continued her studies in Munich under Franz von Lenbach (1836–1904), whose influence remained visible in her portraiture.[3]
Career in Berlin (1891–1899)
editSteinthal made her artistic debut in 1891 with a portrait of Robert Schweichel (1821–1907), chairman of the German press association, presented at his seventieth birthday celebration.[4] Contemporary critics described the work favorably and noted her as a promising young talent.[5]
During the 1890s she established herself as a portraitist in Berlin. She exhibited at the Münchener Jahresausstellung im Kgl. Glaspalaste (Munich Annual Exhibition) in 1893 and showed regularly at the Eduard Schulte Gallery and the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung.[6] Her sitters included figures from Berlin’s cultural and professional circles, among them the violinist Betty Schwabe, the actors Jenny Groß and Josef Kainz, and the banker Emil Heymann.[7]
In 1898 Lenbach exhibited a portrait of Steinthal at the Eduard Schulte Gallery. Although the painting is now lost, contemporary reviews described the work in allegorical terms.[8]
Critical reception of Steinthal’s work in Berlin was mixed. While some reviewers praised her technical skill, others were more critical of her draftsmanship and painterly handling.[9]
Her Berlin-period oeuvre consists predominantly of portraits, with a smaller number of figurative compositions. No still lifes or landscapes are currently known from this period.
Move to Paris and marriage
editIn 1899 Steinthal relocated to Paris. Shortly after her arrival she married the French engineer Alexandre Edmond Thomine (1862–1943). She subsequently exhibited under the name Mme. Thomine and did not resume exhibiting in Germany.[10] [11]
After a brief interruption in her exhibition record around 1899–1900, she re-entered the Paris art world in 1901. She initially exhibited at the Silberberg Gallery and soon began showing regularly at the Société des Artistes Français (SaF) and the Union des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs (UFPS).[12] [13]
Parisian work (1901–1906)
editFrom 1901 onward Steinthal exhibited consistently in Paris. While continuing to produce portraits, she expanded her repertoire to include religious and classical subjects.
In 1902 she exhibited a pastel titled Saint Geneviève at the Société des Artistes Français. In 1903 she showed Saint Cecilia, which was reproduced in L’Art et la Mode and circulated in postcard form.[14] Around this time she listed “M. Renard,” likely the painter Émile Renard (1850–1930), as her instructor.[15] [16]
In 1904 and 1905 she exhibited primarily with the Union des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs.[17] Works from this period included Bacchante, Saint Madeleine, Danaë, and Salomé’s Remorse. Reviews in the French press praised her portraits and classical compositions, with some critics ranking her contributions among the most notable in the exhibitions in which she participated.[18] [19]
In early 1906 she was accepted as a member of the Société des Artistes Français, sponsored by the portraitist Émile Cagniart and Jean-Baptiste Antoine Guillemet.[20]
Death and legacy
editSteinthal died suddenly in Paris on 20 February 1906 at the age of thirty-seven. At the time of her death she was preparing to exhibit approximately fifteen works, including self-portraits, a painting titled Rayon de Soleil (1906), and a portrait of Henri Rochefort’s granddaughter.[21]
After her death, her work gradually disappeared from public view. Many paintings from her Berlin period are now lost, and documentation of her oeuvre remains fragmentary. The dispersal of her works, combined with the broader destruction and displacement of Jewish property in the twentieth century, contributed to the loss of much of her artistic legacy.
Obituaries described her as hosting a Parisian salon frequented by artists, musicians, and intellectuals, though material documentation of this activity remains limited.[22]
Titles of exhibited works identified in catalogues
editDamenportrait, 1889
Peasant woman with basket, 1890
Portrait of the violin virtuosin Betty Schwabe, 1892
Portrait of Mutter der Kunstlerin, 1892
Portrait of Mrs. Dr. M. W. Meyer, 1892
Lady's portrait, 1892
Portrait of Dr Schweichel, 1892
Portrait of actor Kainz, 1893
Portrait of a Gentleman, 1893
Porträt Emil Heymann (1842-1911), 1893
Portrait, 1893
Portrait of Hermann Sudermanns, 1893
Brustbildnis eines Offiziers, 1894
Noble Japanese lady on the promenade, 1894
Portrait of the poet Ernst Wichert, 1894
Portrait of Otto Jantzen, 1895
Child Portrait, 1895
Pastel Portrait of Mrs. H., 1895
Study of a head, 1896
"The head of a voluptuous woman with a state-of-the-art hat", 1896
Pastel portrait of a boy, 1896
Study for portrait of a graceful young lady, 1897
Bust. Girl with a wreath in her loose hair, 1897
Portrait of Jenny Groß, 1898
Her Baby / The Favourite, 1899
"A female head smiling upward in the manner of Lenbach", 1899
Portrait de mon beau-pere, 1901
Portrait Sketch of an American Girl, 1901
Portrait de femme en rouge, 1902
Portrait de Miss Mary-F.C., 1902
Portrait de Miss M. T. C., 1903
Portrait de Mme. E. D., 1903
Mon mari, 1903
Petite fille dans un parc, 1903
Saint Cecilia, 1903
Bohemienne, 1903
Portrait de Me Rodolphe Rousseau, 1903
"A head of a young girl", 1904
Portrait, 1904
Mon beau-pere, 1904
Son Bebe, 1904
Portrait, 1904
Portraits de M. et G. de C., 1904
Saint Madeleine, 1904
"A young woman in a straw hat decorated with poppies/ frankly seductive study of a young woman under a large hat", 1904
Little girl cradling a dog, 1904
Head of a young girl, 1904
La Douleur, 1904
Salome's Remorse, 1905
Danae, 1905
Portrait of Mme D…, 1905
Moi en automobile, 1905
Portraits des enfants M et F. B, 1905
the Bacchante, 1905
Bust of a Little Boy, 1906
Portrait of Henri Rochefort's Granddaughter (Denise), 1906
"Little girl in white", 1906
Portrait du docteur Courteault, 1906
Etudes d'apres moi-meme, 1906
Portrait de Mme A. R., 1906
Portrait de M. R. R., 1906
Fillette, 1906
Rayon de Soleil, 1906
Work is still being done to identify the whereabouts of these paintings.
References
edit- ↑ Breslauer Zeitung, October 17, 1866; And Breslauer Zeitung, March 7, 1867.
- ↑ E. Bénézit and Jacques Busse, eds., Bénézit Dictionary of Artists, 1st ed., vol. 13 (Gründ, 2006); and Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, eds., Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart (Engelmann, 1950).
- ↑ “Die Malerin Fräulein Traute Steinthal hat hier ihre Tätigkeit wieder aufgenommen, nachdem die Dame in letzter Zeit in München Gelegenheit gehabt, weitere Studien im Atelier und unter den Augen Franz v. Lenbachs machen zu dürfen, ein Vorzug, der nicht leicht den jüngeren Berufsgenossen des Meisters zu Theil wird.” From Berliner Börsen-Courier, September 16, 1893.
- ↑ Original: “Von andern Geschenken machte sich noch das gelungene wohlgetroffene Bild des Jubilars bemerkbar, von Frl. Steinthal, einer jungen talentvollen Künstlerin, gemalt.” From Breslauer Zeitung, July 14, 1891, evening edition; and, “Die Vorstände der Bezirksverbände des Schriftstellerverbandes sehen von Fräulein Gertrud Steinthal, einer überaus begabten jugendlichen Malerin, vortrefflich gemaltes Porträt.” From Berliner Börsen-Courier, July 14, 1891. Additionally, in 1895 the Berliner Börsen-Courier references this portrait and its presentation as the moment Steinthal gained the eye of the art world: “Miss Traute Steinthal is all the more indispensable as the Press Association is the starting point of her artistic reputation. A portrait of the former association chairman Schweichel, painted for his anniversary, first drew attention to this painter.” Translated from: “Fräulein Traute Steinthal fehlt um so weniger, als der Verein Presse Ausgangspunkt ihrer künstlerischen Geltung ist. Ein Porträt des früheren Vereinsvorsitzenden Schweichel, zu dessen Jubiläum gemalt, lenkte zuerst die Aufmerksamkeit auf diese Malerin.” From Berliner Börsen-Courier, January 27, 1895.
- ↑ Original: “Von andern Geschenken machte sich noch das gelungene wohlgetroffene Bild des Jubilars bemerkbar, von Frl. Steinthal, einer jungen talentvollen Künstlerin, gemalt.” From Breslauer Zeitung, July 14, 1891, evening edition; and, “Die Vorstände der Bezirksverbände des Schriftstellerverbandes sehen von Fräulein Gertrud Steinthal, einer überaus begabten jugendlichen Malerin, vortrefflich gemaltes Porträt.” From Berliner Börsen-Courier, July 14, 1891.
- ↑ Hamburger Nachrichten, January 22, 1892; Berliner Börsen-Courier, February 16, 1896; Große Berliner Kunstausstellung, Katalog: Die Ausstellung währt vom 3. Mai bis 2. September 1894 (1894), 84; Große Berliner Kunstausstellung, Katalog: Die Ausstellung währt vom 7. Mai bis 17. September 1899 (1899), 69.
- ↑ Titles of works: Porträt der Violinvirtuosin Betty Schwabe (1892, location unknown) from Akademie der Künste (Berlin), LXIII (Dreiundsechzigste) Ausstellung der K. Akademie der Künste zu Berlin im Landes-Ausstellungsgebäude am Lehrter Bahnhof, 15. Mai bis 31. Juli 1892: Illustrierter Katalog (1892) 66; Porträt der Jenny Groß (1898, location unknown) from Kölnische Zeitung, November 30, 1898; Zivilporträt (Josef Kainz [1858–1910]) (1893, oil on canvas, Theatermuseum, Vienna); Porträt Emil Heymann (1842–1911) (1893, oil on canvas, Jewish Museum Berlin, collection of the Heymann family, https://objekte.jmberlin.de/gobject/jmb-obj-69418). Note: Steinthal’s oeuvre of portraits is thus inherently tied to the history that surrounds the persecution, looting, and murder of Jewish Germans following the Shoah. Betty Schwabe, for example, was arrested in 1943 in the Netherlands, then deported to the Sobibor extermination camp, where she was murdered. “Betty Francken (née Schwabe).” Stolpersteine Hamburg. Accessed October 21, 2025. https://stolpersteine-hamburg.de/en.php?MAIN_ID=7&BIO_ID=2592.
- ↑ “Fräulein Traute Steinthal dagegen entblößt den lieblichen Rücken, auf dem ein Köcher hängt, und wendet ihr lächelndes Antlitz (Diana oder Amor?) dem entzückten Beschauer zu.” From Berliner Börsen-Courier, November 10, 1898.
- ↑ “…aber dasBeste bat sie dem Meister nicht abgeguckt.” From Berliner Börsen-Zeitung, October 5, 1893. AND Die Kritik: Wochenschau des öffentlichen Lebens, October–December 1894, 159. AND Die Nation, October 17, 1896.
- ↑ The New York Herald (Paris), May 15, 1899
- ↑ The New York Herald (Paris), September 21, 1899
- ↑ The gallery was located at 29 rue Taitbout. Le Temps, November 16, 1901
- ↑ The New York Herald (Paris), November 10, 1901.
- ↑ Un pastel de Mme Thomine, Sainte Cécile, rappelle, par la recherche de son arrangement, certaines belles compositions religieuses du XVII e siècle.” From L’Art et la mode: Journal de la vie mondaine, June 20, 1903.
- ↑ Société des artistes français, Catalogue illustré: Salon (1902)
- ↑ Salon des artistes français, Explication des ouvrages de peinture et dessins, sculpture, architecture et gravure des artistes vivants (1902), 225.
- ↑ Union des femmes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et décorateurs, Bulletin officiel de l’Union des femmes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, December 1, 1904, no. 119.
- ↑ “Les portraitistes triomphent…” From La Libre Parole, February 13, 1904; and “les trois envois de Mme Traute-Thomine, dont deux portraits fort simplement réalisés, et une Sainte Madeleine, priant avec ferveur très mystiquement Expressive.” From Journal des artistes, March 20, 1904.
- ↑ “Notons encore une savoureuse et sérieuse étude de Mme Traute Thomine, une tête de jeune femme coiffée d’un chapeau de paille, fermement dessinée et sobrement peinte. Ces trois dernières œuvres peuvent compter parmi les meilleurs envois.” From Le Petit Parisien, February 14, 1904; and “Sous le titre d’Etude, Mme Traute-Thomine nous donne une des peintures franchement – et fraichement – séduisantes de ce Salonnet: une jeune femme, dans le gout de Rubens, sous un chapeau de paille qui fait penser a Lawrence,” From Le Journal, February 14, 1904.
- ↑ Société des artistes français, Compte-rendu des travaux de la Société des artistes français, January–December 1906, 17.
- ↑ Union des femmes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et décorateurs, Bulletin officiel de l’Union des femmes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, March 1, 1906, no. 127.
- ↑ Berliner Kunst-Herold: wirtschaftl. Zentralorgan für bildende Künstler ; offizielles Publikations-Organ des Verbandes Deutscher Illustratoren, der Bildhauer-Vereinigung von Mitgliedern des V.B.K. und der Ortsvereine der A.D.K., sowie der Freien Vereinigung der Graphiker, March 10, 1906, 83.
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