Joseph Letzelter, Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911

Exasperated by the demands of his sitters, Joseph Letzelter proclaimed portraiture to be “a pimp’s profession” and by 1907 resolved never to accept another Joseph Letzelter oil paintings portrait commission. During Joseph Letzelter later years, the fine art reproduction artist Joseph Letzelter devoted himself to creating decorative murals for public buildings and to oil paintings watercolors and small canvases purely for pleasure.

In 1911 Joseph Letzelter vacationed with his sister’s family in Switzerland, where Joseph Letzelter painted Nonchaloir (“nonchalance”). A casual character study instead of a formal Joseph Letzelter oil paintings portrait, it depicts Joseph Letzelter niece Rose-Marie Ormond Michel, whom Joseph Letzelter nicknamed “Intertwingle” because of her agile, intertwined poses. Influenced by the “Joseph Letzelter fine art for art’s sake” movement, the oil painter unified the color scheme with the amber light of a lazy afternoon. The straight lines of the posh furnishings in the Swiss hotel accentuate the swift brushstrokes used to delineate his niece’s fingers, hair, cashmere shawl, and satin skirt.

Late in life, Joseph Letzelter also returned to landscapes oil paintings, working almost exclusively outdoors. Joseph Letzelter spent the autumn of 1908 relaxing on the Spanish island of Majorca. Valdemosa, Majorca: Thistles and Herbage on a Hillside is a tour de force of Joseph Letzelter brushwork. Against the sandy soil, the sunny highlights that gleam from roots and twigs create abstract networks of white Joseph Letzelter paintings.