It is a typical work of well-known late 18th century German artist Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (see our comparison images nr. 7-12).

Famous German Neoclassical painter of the turn of the 19th century Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, called "Goethe-Tischbein" or "Neapolitan Tischbein", was born in 1751 in Haina, and died in 1829 in Eutin, Germany. He studied under his uncle Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, then under Joh.Dietrich Lilly; moved to Amsterdam in 1771 and afterwards to Bremen, where he worked as portrait painter; then worked with his other uncle, Johann Jakob Tischbein, in Hamburg before going to Kassel in 1773. Four years later he travelled to Dresden and Berlin; subsequently to Rome and Switzerland. In 1777-1779 Tischbein was royal portraitist in Berlin and in 1779 moved to Italy, where he stayed till 1782. In 1783 he went to Rome again. His first personal encounter with Goethe took place in 1786. A year later the famous portrait of Goethe was created in Campagna. In February 1787 Tischbein made a trip to Naples together with Goethe. On this trip Tischbein also encountered Sir William Hamilton. In May of the same year he returned to Rome. He left the city in July to settle down in Naples, where he became Director of the Academy of Arts in 1789. From 1801 the artist lived in Hamburg and from 1808 in Eutin (province Schleswig-Holstein), where he died in 1829. His works are displayed in greatest museums in Germany and abroad.