2x EINBLICKE
“Portrait of a Lady à la Japonaise. Franz von Stuck” and “What’s New in the Gesamtkunstwerk”?
Curatored tour with Margot Th. Brandlhuber
The Museum Villa Stuck has received a significant addition to its collection: The Association for the Promotion of the Villa Stuck Foundation (Verein zur Förderung der Stiftung Villa Stuck e. V.) donated a previously unknown painting by Franz von Stuck titled Portrait of a Lady à la Japonaise to the museum. The work, which originally belonged to Stuck’s student Max Ackermann, thus returns to the place where it was created. The new acquisition fills a gap in the collections and, thanks to recent research, offers a fresh perspective on the symbolist’s artistic universe.
Role portraits and metamorphoses are central motifs in Stuck’s work. While depictions of a bullfighter, an infanta, an Egyptian woman, or a Spanish woman are already known, *Portrait of a Lady à la Japonaise* adds a new aspect of exoticism to the artist’s oeuvre by focusing on a non-European culture.
The painting appears remarkably modern and depicts “The Munich Woman” in an embroidered, European-style kimono with an obi sash. Her self-assured posture, geisha-style makeup, and kanzashi (traditional hairpins) underscore—as is so often the case—the aura of mystery and enigma in Stuck’s portraits of women.

The work is set against the backdrop of the “Japan craze” that swept Munich in the late 19th century. Asian art became an integral part of interior design; at Villa Stuck, too, the dining room—decorated with Asian art—served as a stage for artists and society. Japonism was further fueled by musical theater productions such as *The Mikado* and *The Geisha*, which shaped the Western fantasy of Japan with opulent costumes.
Personal connections deepen the context: Stuck’s friend, the court actor Konrad Dreher, enjoyed great success as Ko-Ko in *The Mikado*, and Stuck’s future wife, Mary Lindpaintner, also appeared as a singer in *The Mikado* performances. The accompanying exhibition in the connecting building features not only the portrait but also preliminary studies, photographs of Mary von Stuck and Lydia Feez in kimonos, and an original women’s kimono from Stuck’s studio.
Save the Date:
June 24 / 5:30 p.m. and
ADDITIONAL guided tour on July 22, 2026, and EINBLICKE: “What’s New in the Gesamtkunstwerk Franz von Stucks”
July 22, 2026 / 5:30 p.m.