The Kiss. 1866. (Original 1840). Oil
The Kiss was created by Otto Friedrich von Moeller in his youth, painted while he was on a study trip to Italy after graduating from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In the context of the strict propriety of society at that time, the picture of a village beauty being kissed against her will by a young fisher caused a sensation. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia bought the painting for his collection. The Academy of Arts bestowed the title of Member of the Academy on the artist, and the artist made several copies of the work.
In addition, it was replicated in engravings, and painted on glass, windows shades and porcelain. In this exhibition, we see one of the copies, which was painted by Carl Siegmund Walther 26 years after the original was completed, probably on a commission.
Otto Friedrich von Moeller, who painted the original, was a Baltic German painter who worked primarily in Rome and St. Petersburg. He spent his summers, and also painted, at his Kaali Manor in Saaremaa.
Carl Siegmund Walther, who painted the copy, was a Baltic German painter, known as a portraitist and the first Estonian lithographer; he worked in Tallinn.