Winterhalter’s Portraits in Vintage Photographs: Winter Palace

I love finding images of Winterhalter’s works in vintage photographs – such as this photo from the interiors of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg.

The above image represents the study of the Emperor Alexander II, and it is believed to have been taken in the early 1880s, shortly after his assassination. The eagle-eyed Winterhalter fans would readily recognise on the lower left the portrait of the Emperor’s mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1798-1860, née Charlotte Prinzessin von Preussen), painted by Winterhalter in Germany, in Wildbad, in 1856, and showing the  Empress Dowager in a white gown with turquoise jewellery – traditional signs of mourning at the Russian Imperial Court.

The portrait of the Emperor’s mother is complemented on the lower right by the portrait of the Emperor’s wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1824-80, née Wilhelmina Marie Prinzessin von Hessen-Darmstadt), painted by Winterhalter also in Germany, in 1857, with the sittings recorded at Bad Kissingen and Brückinau in late July 1857. It would be no exaggeration to state that the portrait became one of the most beloved images of the Empress, being popularised through versions, copies, and prints directly after – or inspired by – the portrait.

Portraits of the Emperor’s father, Emperor Nicholas I, and of the Emperor’s grand-mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna (wife of Pavel I), by other artists, can also be distinguished on the walls. The two Winterhalter portraits sandwich a later portrait of the Empress Maria Alexandrovna by Heinrich von Angeli, who would later succeed Winterhalter at the British Court as one of Queen Victoria’s favourite portrait painters. 

It is believed that the two Winterhalter portraits had remained in the Emperor’s study at the Winter Palace, which was left untouched following his assassination in 1881. Both portraits were loaned to the celebrated exhibition of portraits from Russian private collections, which took place at the Tauride Palace in 1905 and curated by Sergei Diagilev. They also appear to have featured in the exhibition celebrating the Tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913. Following the Revolution of 1917, the portraits were nationalised with the rest of the Imperial Collections, and have entered the collections of the State Hermitage.

© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, 17 July 2019

 

‘Portrait of Clémentine de Boubers, Baronne Renouard de Bussierre’ (1854) by Hermann Winterhalter @ Sotheby’s Paris

Portrait of Clémentine de Boubers, Baronne Renouard de Bussierre (1854), by Hermann Winterhalter, @ Sotheby’s Paris

The aformentioned auction featured a portrait of Mélanie de Pourtalès’s sister-in-law, Clémentine de Boubers, Baronne Paul Renouard de Bussierre (1829-1861), by the hand of Hermann Winterhalter.

The baroness is painted at the age of 25, at just over half-length, posed frontally, with her face in semi-profile to the right. She is wearing an evening gown of white satin over a lace-edged under-blouse, with white silk bows at the sleeves and the waist. Apart from the corsage of pink roses and a golden wedding band at the base of the ring finger, the baroness wears no other jewellery or visible decorations.

The provenance of the portrait is unclear. The portraits of the sitter, her husband, and her sister are framed identically, suggesting that they were at one stage in the same collection. As Clémentine and her husband had no children, it is likely that their portraits may have passed to her sister-in-law, Mélanie de Pourtalès, and thence, by family descent, to Christian, Comte de Pourtalès, at Château de Martinsvart, from whose collection it was offered at Collection Schickler-Pourtalès: Art et Pouvoir au XIXe siècle, by Sotheby’s Paris, on 16 May 2019.

Clémentine’s white dress may suggest that the portrait references her marriage two years’ prior. The three states of the roses—wilting, blooming, and budding—are quite unusual in the context of a formal portrait, and may indicate Hermann Winterhalter’s own allegoric and moralising touch. The lack of jewellery broadly corresponds with the prevalent depictions of French aristocracy in the middle of the nineteenth century, and especially during—or shortly after—the Second Republic. It also may indicate the sitter’s personal piety and the lack of ostentatious tastes, reflective of her Protestant faith.

Offered with the estimate of € 30,000-40,000, the portrait appears to have found no buyers. Although Hermann Winterhalter may have been as talented as his celebrated older brother, his art market performance remains relatively modest.

© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, 16 July 2019

Winterhalter’s ‘Portrait of Mélanie de Bussière, Comtesse de Pourtalès’ (1857) @ Sotheby’s Paris

It is always a thrill when iconic works by Franz Xaver Winterhalter turn up on the art market. While transferring the ‘custodianship’, they test the strength of the market and re-invigorate the collectors’ following.

Such was the case with Winterhalter’s Portrait of Mélanie de Bussière, Comtesse de Pourtalès (1838-1913), of 1857, at the sale Collection Schickler-Pourtalès: Art et Pouvoir au XIXe siècle by Sotheby’s Paris, on 16 May 2019 (lot 59). The understated beauty of the portrait, the delicate colour scheme, the vigorous and unrestrained brushwork, as well as the willingness of its various owners to lend it to exhibitions made it one of the most famous and most beloved of Winterhalter’s portraits. Its various artistic and aesthetic aspects are a fitting illustration to the artist’s enduring reputation as one of the most sought-after elite portrait specialists of the era.

Aged barely nineteen, the countess is painted standing, in a semi-turn to the right, against a loosely-executed verdant background. Portrayed almost en face, her gaze is directed at the viewer. She is wearing an evening gown of white satin, edged with azure ribbon and lace, and with matching bows of azure silk on the sleeves and the bodice. The date of the portrait suggests that it was commissioned to commemorate Mélanie de Bussière’s marriage to Edmond, Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (1828-95). Although she became the wife of one of the richest men in Paris, she wears no jewellery save for a wedding band and a small gem-set ring, reflective perhaps of the personal modesty of the sitter.

While the authorship of the portrait is beyond doubt, the signature may have been overpainted and / or added by a different hand.

Over the last 162 years of its existence, the portrait appears to have always remained in the family, passing between various branches and belonging to various descendants of the Countess, moving between their homes in Paris, Strasbourg, and Cherbourg.

The excellent condition of the portrait, its lustre as one of the most iconic works by the artist, as well as the added cache of continuous family ownership all played their magic. Estimated at € 120,000-150,000, the portrait sold for € 732,500, or, roughly, US$821,500.

It was widely rumoured that the city of Strasbourg was fundraising to secure this picture, as well as that it may have been secured by another member of the family. While the rumours have not been confirmed and the identity of the new owner has not been released, one humbly hopes that such important work was acquired for a public collection.

© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, 9 July 2019

Winterhalter’s ‘Portrait of a Lady (believed to be Louise Freiin von Freystedt, Comtesse Olympe Aguado (1834-98)’ @ Roseberys of London

Another fascinating portrait that recently graced the walls of an auction house represents an unknown lady, in an elaborate, low-cut, evening dress of white tulle and satin, richly decorated with lace, and with a lace shawl thrown over the crinoline skirt. She is most sumptuously bejewelled with earrings; a two-strand pearl necklace; a gem-set star-shaped brooch; bracelets on both arms, including a gold bangle with emerald and pearls; and gem-set rings on her fingers. Most notably, she is holding a lorgnette with an elaborately decorated, gem-set handle.

The portrait is signed, but not dated. Stylistically, it fits among the artist’s portraits from the late 1850s to the early 1860s. Such dating corresponds with the hairstyle á l’Impératrice and the elaborate crinoline skirt.

The identity of the sitter remains a mystery.

The label on the reverse of the painting suggests that the portrait represents a member of the Aguado family. The lady in the portrait looks to be in her early to mid-twenties. The only member of the Aguado family who fits the age of the sitter is Berthe Freiin von Freystedt (1834-98), who, in 1860, married Count Olympe Aguado (painted by Winterhalter in 1852).

A photo of Comtesse Olympe Aguado in the archives of Musée d’Orsay bears similarity with the lady in this portrait, especially in the outline of the brow, the nose, and the jawline. Other photos show her with a similar hairstyle; and one of the photos also shows her wearing glasses.

Further research is required to confirm convincingly the identity of the sitter and the history of the ownership of the portrait.

Estimated at £30,000 – £50,000, the portrait was sold for a comparatively modest sum of £28,000.

The portrait is given a provisional number 635 in the current version of my catalogue raisonné.

© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, 3 July 2019