The portrait of Leah (La Bohème) was painted during one of Gottlieb’s private classes over the period of 10 weeks. His inspiration for the portrait was during a time in which he was very taken with the work of Friedrich von Amerling, Austro-Hungarian portrait painter of the 19th century. Gottlieb’s approach combined his earlier Verdaccio method with a variation on the later glazing layer to see if it would come closer to Amerling’s finish. It is common for painters and particularly for Gottlieb always sees a way to greater perfection, to continuously test and adapt their methods to seek greater results.
