Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859)

Notes:
The sitter was a renowned German naturalist and explorer. Humboldt himself chose the mountains of Chimborazo and Cotopaxi in Ecuador as the background of this picture. Apparently, Schrader received Humboldt portrait commissions from both William Aufermann and Albert Havemeyer and executed two, nearly identical paintings. There is some confusion as to which came first (see Independent 1860, Montezuma 1889, MMA 1898). The version in the Aufermann collection was sold to A. T. Stewart in 1863 and subsequently to Knoedler in 1887. Additionally, there may be several copies. A version with the same dimensions as The Met's, also signed and dated 1859, is in the collection of the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Marbach.

Schrader painted two other portraits of Humboldt, one a full-length portrait standing before his desk (1859; Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) and the other a bust portrait, possibly a study for the full-length painting (1856; Nationalgalerie, Berlin).

(Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art)