The Vampire Queen (Marie Schleinzer in Bat Costume) (1896)
Photograph by Atelier Adele Studio (Austrian, 1862–1905)
She stands in full theatrical costume — bat wings spread, dark fabric draped, her expression composed and entirely aware of the camera. This is not a candid. This is a performance, and she knows exactly what she is doing.
The subject is Marie Schleinzer, an Austrian stage actress photographed in costume for the ballet Rund um Wien (Around Vienna), in which she played the allegorical force of evil. The image was published in Photographische Correspondenz, the leading Austrian photographic journal of the period, as part of a series documenting theatrical costume and performance.
The studio behind the lens was Atelier Adele, founded in Vienna in 1862 by Adele Perlmutter-Heilperin and her brothers Max and William Perlmutter. Adele became the first — and only — female k.u.k. Hofphotograph: imperial and royal court photographer of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In a field dominated entirely by men, she built a studio renowned specifically for its ability to photograph women — to capture presence, theatricality, and personality rather than simply record a likeness.
The result is an image that is simultaneously a historical document, a theatrical portrait, and something that looks, 130 years later, like it was made for exactly this wall.
Rectangle Canvas Wrap
Gallery-quality canvas with fade-resistant inks and a 1.25" deep pine frame sourced from renewable forests. Arrives wrapped and ready to hang.
- Materials: cotton and polyester composite canvas, pine wood frame
- Inner frame: radiata pine from renewable forests
- Leveling bumpers included for wall protection
- Ready to hang — mounting hardware pre-attached
Care: Dust gently with a clean, damp cloth as needed.