Ottilie Wilhelmine Roederstein, Swiss
“Yes, Sir, Your Portrait Is Incomplete, But I Have a Good Excuse. You See, My Assistant Didn’t Come In Today, and He’s My Right-Hand Man,” 1887
Oil on canvas
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/// This Portrait of a Painter must stand
here unfinished from how it was planned.
Ottilie knew his flaws;
(he deserved no applause),
so she just couldn’t give him a hand.
/// Female painters were often passed by,
though her skills were as good as a guy.
Roederstein earned acclaim
and a measure of fame.
(But today, some would shout DEI.)
/// It appears Ottilie never wed;
lived her life with a partner, instead.
Her “roommate” was Germany’s
first female surgeon. She’s
trained in gynecological Med.
/// Ottilie made this portrait. Her yen
was, I think, more for women than men.
As a balance to that,
this male model who sat
for her lived with a dancer named Ken.