Hermann Winterhalter – The Winterhalter Catalogue

‘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.

Updates to the Online Catalogue Raisonne of the Winterhalter Brothers’ Works

60sh-a Count_Paul_Andreievich_Shouvaloff

Dear Friends,

As those of you who had time and patience to download my doctoral thesis on Winterhalter – ‘Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): Portraiture in the Age of Social Change’ – https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/127963 – had noticed, it comes with a huge addendum of all works by Winterhalter known to me.

I am looking to publish my thesis (any recommendations and leads are welcome) – but, in the meanwhile, I will continue updating my online catalogue raisonne of the Winterhalter Brothers’ works.

Your assistance with the present version has been INVALUABLE and I cannot thank enough all those individuals and institutions who continue communicating with me and providing me, most generously and selflessly, with invaluable updates and… corrections!

In the coming weeks and months, I would share with you some of the more important updates as well as information on some of the works that have recently appeared on the art market.

I look forward to hearing from each and everyone of you – let’s keep the conversation about Winterhalter going!

#winterhalter #franzxaverwinterhalter #thesis #publication #dissertation #artcatalogues #artbooks #artmarket #artauctions #artsales

The Doctoral Thesis on Winterhalter is Done – Now, it’s back to the Online Catalogue Raisonné

Dear Friends,

Apologies for my prolonged silence—all my energies have been focused on the completion of my doctoral dissertation on Franz Xaver Winterhalter, titled, accordingly, ‘Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): Portraiture in the Age of Social Change’.

As the title suggests, my thesis focused on Winterhalter’s portraits and examined how it reflected social change which was taking place in the course of ‘the long Nineteenth Century’.

I am thrilled that Richard Ormond, the author and co-curator of the ground-breaking Winterhalter exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and Petit Palais all way back in 1987-1988, was one of my examiners, and provided me with a most encouraging and supportive feedback.

While I was completing the thesis, I was also asked to contribute to another retrospective exhibition of Winterhalter’s works, which toured the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (TX); Augustinermuseum, Freiburg-im-Breisgau; and Musée National du Château, Compiègne between 2015 and 2017, and I am eternally grateful to Dr Helga Kessler Aurisch for involving me in the project and inviting me to contribute an essay to the exhibition catalogue.

My thesis is now available online – https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/127963

It is a LONG read – but if you have a chance and patience, would love to receive your feedback and continue the conversation about meaning and significance of Winterhalter’s beautiful works!

#winterhalter #franzxaverwinterhalter #thesis #dissertation #richardormond #helgaaurisch #npg #london #petitpalais #houston #freiburg #compiegne

Porträt eines jungen Herren @ Ketterer

Porträt eines jungen Herren @ Ketterer

This spirited and lively sketch of a young man with a somewhat surprised and bemused expression on his face, by HERMANN WINTERHALTER, was offered at Ketterer Kunst’s Old Masters & Art of the 19th Century auction, in Munich, 21 Nov 2014, lot 196. Estimated at € 1,000, the drawing was sold for € 1,250 (and went to a very good collection in Germany).

The identity of the sitter remains unknown. The auctioneers dated the drawing from ca. 1870, which means the gentleman in the portrait was most likely a resident of Karlsruhe or Frankfurt-am-Main.

Every time I discover a new work by Hermann Winterhalter, every time I realise more and more what a talented and gifted artist he was in his own right. The drawing has been entered under the provisional no. 195 in Hermann Winterhalter’s catalogue.

New Catalogue Entry – Hermann Winterhalter

I am thrilled to add a new catalogue entry – Jeune Femme des Monts Sabins, by Hermann Winterhalter (oil on canvas, 98 x 76 cm).

Thrilled – because so little is known about Hermann Winterhalter, that every new work, which emerges from a private collection, is akin to a major revelation, and becomes an important addition to our collective knowledge about this supremely gifted and technically adroit painter.

The painting is signed [H] Winterhalter lower left and the handwriting clearly matches Hermann Winterhalter’s signatures in his other authenticated works. It appears to have been painted around the late 1830s to early 1840s, when Hermann joined his brother in Paris and began producing a number of Italian studies influenced by, and reminiscent of, Franz Xaver’s works. A number of these paintings were exhibited at the Salon, where they attracted a positive critical response.

The painting is included in the forthcoming auction, Mobilier, objets d’art, peinture, argenterie, Maître Guillaumont, 1725 route de Riottier, Villefranche-sur-Saône, and will be offered for sale on 28 February 2015, lot 12, estimates €4,000-6,000. [Please see http://www.interencheres.com/ or http://www.auction.fr/ for further information about this sale].

I would like to thank Maître Guillaumont for acknowledging my assistance in the cataloguing of this work.

The painting has been entered into Hermann Winterhalter’s Catalogue Raisonné under the provisional no. 101k.

High Price Realised for a portrait by Hermann Winterhalter

High Price Realised for a portrait by Hermann Winterhalter

Before I resume blog entries on the Winterhalter brothers, I would like to share a quick update on one of the previous posts.

The splendid painting by Hermann Winterhalter, Portrait of Mme Furtado-Heine (late 1850s / early 1860s, oil on canvas, 137.5 x 99.5 cm, Cat. No. HW 16), was sold at Christie’s Tableaux Anciens et du XIXe Siècle, in Paris, on 15 April 2013 (lot 61), for €121,500 (against the estimate of €30,000 – €50,000).

It is a the highest price ever paid for a single-figure portrait by Hermann Winterhalter, and the second highest price ever paid for any work by this artist (the highest price being USD$211,000 (against the estimate of US$180,000-220,000), paid for the Trois demoiselles de la famille de Châteaubourg (1850, oil on canvas, 102.2 x 81.3 cm, Cat. No. HW 117), at Christie’s 19^th Century European Art, 8 April 2008, New York (lot 11).

While this price is still short of some of the more spectacular prices realised for the portraits of his famous brother, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, for me it shows that Hermann is also slowly getting the recognition that he so justly deserves.

As expressed before, I humbly hope that this work has gone to an institutional or an important private collection.

www.christies.com

Portrait of Cecile Furtado-Heine @ Christie’s Paris, 15 April 2013 (cat. no. H 16)

Hermann Winterhalter

H 16: Mme Cécile Furtado-Heine (1821-1896), née Furtado

Oil on canvas, 137.5 x 99.5 cm

Signed lower left: H. Winterhalter

Private Collection

Christie’s Paris is featuring in their Tableaux Anciens et du XIXe siècle sale in Paris, on 15 April 2013, lot 61, arguably one of the most important works by Hermann Winterhalter, Portrait of Mme Cécile Furtado-Heine (1821-1896), née Furtado.

Mme Furtado-Heine is depicted standing three-quarter-length to the left, against a neutrally coloured background, facing the viewer. Her hair is parted in the middle and arranged in ringlets on the sides. She is wearing an evening black and white silk and taffeta dress decorated with a black silk bow and a pearl brooch with a drop pearl pendant at her corsage. A pelt of brown fur (possibly of sable), is covering her arms.

The portrait is considered among Hermann Winterhalter’s finest: in the foreword to the Winterhalter Exhibition in 1928, Armad Dayot wrote: “Sa clientèle de modèles n’atteignit pas à la hauteur hiérarchique de celle de son frère, mais il trouva parfois cependant de flatteuses occasions d’exercer avec succès son réel talent de peintre de la figure, comme dans l’exécution des beaux portraits d’Amaury Duval et de Mme Furtado, pour ne citer que deux de ses meilleures peintures… L’une des toiles plus réussies de l’œuvre iconographique d’Hermann, le portrait de Mme Furtado, … d’une belle générosité d’exécution…”

This important work of institutional quality and significance is estimated at € 30,000-50,000. Should it reach these estimates, it will be the second highest price ever achieved for a work by Hermann Winterhalter on the art market.

http://www.christies.com/

Portrait of a Lady @ Beaussant-Lefèvre, 5 April 2013 (cat. no. H 123)

Hermann Winterhalter

H 123. Portrait of a Lady, 1857, Paris

Oil on canvas, 115.0 x 89.0 cm

Signed, dated and inscribed lower centre left: H. Winterhalter / Paris / 1857

Private Collection

While we are on the subject of Hermann Winterhalter, two important portraits by the artist are coming up for sale in Paris.

Beaussant-Lefèvre, in their Importants Tableaux Anciens, Objets d’Art et de Bel Ameublement, on 5 April 2013, lot 49, have Hermann Winterhalter’s Portrait of a Lady, which is signed, and especially rare for Hermann Winterhalter, it is also sited and dated as painted in Paris in 1857.

The portrait depicts a lady, standing, three-quarter-length to the right, facing the viewer, hair parted in the middle with lace lappets descending to her neck and shoulders; wearing a black silk dress overlaid with black lace and matching shawl; hands crossed over below waist; with roses in her corsage and holding a fan in her left hand; the background is neutral with imitation of a skyscape.

At the time of writing, earlier provenance and the identity of the sitter remain unknown.

The portrait is modestly estimated at € 4,000-6,000. It has been on the market a few times before, so hopefully this rare signed and dated work would find a more permanent home this time round.

Jeune Fille Assise @ Hôtel des Ventes, Geneva, 13 March 2013 (cat. no H 111a)

Hermann Winterhalter

111a. Jeune Fille Assise, early to mid-1840s

Oil on canvas, 50.0 x 38.0 cm

Signed lower right: H. Winterhalter

Private Collection

A charming painting by Hermann Winterhalter recently appeared at the Hôtel des Ventes, in Geneva, on 13 March 2013 (lot 945).

It shows a young girl, depicted full-length, seated on the grass, against the background of a dark folliage. Her head is tilted to the right, her eyes gazing to the left beyond the picture plane. Her hands are resting on her limbs, the right hand cupping the left. She is wearing a dress of Mediterranean inspiration, though it is difficult to attribute it with certainly to a particular national or regional costume. Her black hair is parted in the middle, gathered at the back, and decorated with pink and white tasselled ribbons. A white embroidered shawl covers her shoulders. It is tucked into an olive-grey coloured bustier, decorated at the shoulders with large pink ribbons edged with tassels, which match the ribbons in her hair.

The girl is wearing a light golden-yellow skirt with a white apron. Red slippers edged with yellow are visible on the right hand side beneath the hemline of her skirt. She is holding in her lap what appears to be a stick with raw wool attached to the top of it and fastened with an ornamental ribbon, the design of which echoes details of costumes of Mediterranean maidens in comparable works by Hermann Winterhalter, as well as those of his brother, Franz.

Though the work is not dated, the style, brushwork, pigment application, and the overall gamut of the painting suggests the early to mid 1840s as a possible date for this work.

The catalogue does not provide any provenance information. Originally estimated at CHF 700-900, the painting was sold for CHF 3,000 (€ 2,500 approx.).

http://www.hoteldesventes.ch/

Portrait de jeune fille en robe de bal @ Piasa, 21 Dec 2012

Portrait de jeune fille en robe de bal @ Piasa, 21 Dec 2012

This potrait appeared at Piasa, in Paris, on 21 December 2013 (lot 107, oil on canvas, 66.0 x 55.0 cm), as by Hermann Winterhalter (est. € 2,000-3,000).

The fact that the portrait is not by the artist is apparent on stylistic grounds.

This unfortunate misattribution is further confirmed by the presence of a signature in the lower right-hand-side of the painting, which is also not in Hermann Winterhalter’s handwriting.

There is little doubt that this portrait was painted by a professional artist, most likely from the second half of the nineteenth century.

At the time of writing, the portrait remains unsold. Hopefully, with further research, the correct attribution will be found.