Last Update: 14 Sep 2022
Franz Xaver Winterhalter
[Menzenschwand 20 April 1805 – Frankfurt am Main 8 July 1873]
This Catalogue Raisonné is Research-in-Progress. Comments, additional information, images, and research materials are welcome; all contributions will be gratefully acknowledged. This is a concise list of works with selected images only. Please, contact the author, Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, for the following information:
- Catalogue entries / essays on each artwork;
- Sitters’ Biographies and Lists of Descendants (where known);
- Provenance of each artwork;
- Exhibition History;
- Detailed known bibliography (from 1830s to the present day);
- Lists of known copies / versions / replicas;
- Lists of known prints / lithographs / engravings after each artwork.
Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg
vonreisberg[at]gmail[dot]com
Works from 1866 to 1873
[66bo] Frau Anna Bölger (1837-1923, née Burckhardt).
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: Mme Boelger Burkhardt; BvR 2015: no.811a)
[66bu] Mr Richard Burn.
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: Richard Burn, petit oval; BvR 2015: no.812)
[66do] Mme Dourassoff [presumably Varvara Pavlovna Durasova (née Krotkova)].
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: Mme Dourassoff; BvR 2015: no.813)
[66fi] Mlle Eugénie Fiocre (1845-1908, later Marquise de Courtivron).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas.
Private Collection.
(Salon 1868; Wild 1894: 45; BvR 2015: no.831)
[66ga] Princess Vera Feodorovna Gagarina (1835-1923, née Countess von der Pahlen).
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: La Princesse Serge Gagarine, 1866; BvR 2015: nos. 691/814)
[66ha] Lord Charles Douglas-Hamilton (1847-86, later 7th Earl of Selkirk).
1866, Baden-Baden.
Oil on canvas, 84.0 x 64.5cm.
Collection of HSH Albert II, Prince of Monaco.
(Wild 1894: 45; BvR 2015: no. 815).
[66ho-a] Antónia Fürstin von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1845-1913, née Dona de Bragança, Infanta de Portugal).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 65.7 x 55.2 cm.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower left: fr Winterhalter / Paris 1866.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894: 48; BvR 2015: no. 816).
[66ho-b] Antónia Fürstin von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1845-1913, née Dona de Bragança, Infanta de Portugal).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown [replica of the above; presumed destroyed by fire at the Tuileries during the French Commune, 1870]
(cf. Wild 1894: 48; BvR 2015: no. 816a).
[66sc] Christian Fürst von Schleswig-Holstein-Sondenburg-Augustenburg (1831-1917).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 116.8 x 89.2 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: Fr Winterhalter. / 1866
Collection of HM King Charles III.
(BvR 2015: no. 819).
[66su-a] La petite fille de Mr. Suermondt.
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: as above; BvR 2015: no. 820)
Note: Wild’s reference could refer to either a possible portrait of Elsie Amalie Nancy Suermondt (1862-1945), the only daughter of Barthold Suermondt and his second wife, Nancy Haniel (q.v.); or of Lili Suermondt (later Frau Max Classen, 1866-1933), Barthold Suermondt’s first grand-daughter, born in 1866.
[66su-b] Barthold Suermondt (1818-87).
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 820a).
[66su-c] Frau Nancy Suermondt (1843-96, née Haniel).
Ca. 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 820b).
[66te] Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck (1833-97, née Princess of Cambridge).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown (image known from a copy by Henry Weigall).
(BvR 2015: no. 821).
[66to] Countess Ekaterina Dmitrievna [Golenishcheva-Kutuzova]-Tolstaia (1848-1937, née d’Andriani).
Ca. 1866-67.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 44; BvR 2015: no. 708).
[66va] Mrs Philip Vanderbyl (1835-1905, née Miss Sarah Alexander).
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 130 x 97 cm.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower left: F. Winterhalter / Paris 1866.
Private Collection (sold Christie’s London, 21 May 2014, lot 28, £ 206,500).
(Royal Academy 1867, 257; Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 839).
[66zz] Susannah and the Elders.
1866, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 165 x 115.5 cm.
Signed and dated 1866 lower right.
Seattle (WA): Frye Art Museum.
(Wild 1894, 53, as Susanna im Bade; BvR 2015: no. 822b).
[67ae-a] Fräulein Aebi.
1867, Geneva.
Pencil and watercolour on paper, approximately 25.7 x 20.3 cm.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 53; BvR 2015: no.823).
[67ae-a] Fräulein Aebi [or Madeleine Ritschard].
1867, Geneva.
Pencil and watercolour on paper, approximately 25.7 x 20.3 cm.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 53; BvR 2015: no.824)
Note: the sitter is also known as “Madeleine Ritschard”, as lithographed by Friedrich Weber (1813-82)
[67br] Countess Roza Branicka (1854-1942, later Countess Tarnowska).
1867.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 45 as La jeune fille de Comte Constantin Branicki; BvR 2015: no. 825).
[67ca] Miss Ada Calhoun (1844-1910, later Mrs George Washington Lane).
1867, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 116 x 90 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1867.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 826).
[67ch] Mlle Henriette Chégaray (1844-74, later Mme Adolphe Quesnel).
Ca. 1867.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 45, Mlle Chégarey; BvR 2015: no. 827).
[67cl] Sir Robert Spencer Clifford, 3rd Bt. (1815-92).
1867.
Oil on canvas.
Signed lower left: fr Winterhalter
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894: 45; BvR 2015: no. 828).
[67dr] Mme Dreyfuss.
Ca. 1867.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 45; BvR 2015: no. 829).
[67ei] Mlle d’Eichtal.
1867.
Oil on canvas, 80.0 x 65.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fr Winterhalter 1867.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 830).
[67gr] Prince Albert The Prince Consort (1819-61).
1867, London (posthumous).
Oil on canvas, 241.3 x 156.8 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1867.
London: National Portrait Gallery.
(BvR 2015: no. 832).
[67he-a] Ludwig IV Großherzog von Hessen und bei Rhein (1837-92).
1867, Paris.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated as painted in 1867.
Hessische Hausstiftung.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 833).
[67he-b] Alice Großherzogin von Hessen und bei Rhein (1843-78, née Princess of Great Britain & Ireland).
1867.
Oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fr. Winterhalter / 1867.
Hessische Hausstiftung.
[67kr] Countess Roza Krasinska (1848-1937, née Countess Potocka).
1867, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 81.5 x 65.5 cm.
Signed and dated 1867.
Baranów: Sandomierski Castle Museum.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 834).
[67pa] Countess Evdokia Gavrilovna Pashkevich (1846-87, née Sukhanova-Podkolzina, later Lady Charles Douglas-Hamilton).
Ca. 1867.
Oil on canvas, 80.5 x 64 cm.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894: 45, as Mme Paskiewitch; BvR 2015: no. 835).
[67pr-a] Friedrich Wilhelm Kronprinz von Preußen (1831-88, later Emperor of Germany & King of Prussia).
1867, Berlin.
Oil on canvas, 81.0 x 65.4 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fr Winterhalter / 1867.
Collection of HM King Charles III.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 836).
[67pr-b] Victoria Kronprinzessin von Preußen (1840-1901, née Princess of Great Britain & Ireland, later Empress of Germany & Queen of Prussia).
1867, Berlin.
Oil on canvas, 81 x 64.5 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: Fr Winterhalter / 1867.
Collection of HM King Charles III.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 836).
[67ra] Mme Ralli with her Child.
Ca. 1867.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 45, as Mme Ralli avec son enfant; BvR 2015: no. 838).
[67re] Countess Pelagea Rembielinska (1830-94, née Countess Zamoysc-Zamoyska).
Ca. 1867.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown [image known from a copy].
(Wild 1894, 48; BvR 2015: no. 805).
[67zz-a] A Battle Scene from the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
After 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 822a)
[67zz-a] Second Battle Scene from the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
After 1866.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 822b).
[68aa-a] Self-Portrait.
1868, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 59.6 cm.
Signed and dated: fr Winterhalter 1868
Florence: Galeria degli Uffizi.
(Wild 1894, 53; BvR 2015: no. 822a).
[68aa-b] Self-Portrait.
1868, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 72.5 x 55.0 cm.
Signed lower right: fr Winterhalter.
Karlsruhe: Staatliche Kunsthalle (version of the above).
(Wild 1894, 53; BvR 2015: no. 841).
[68am] “Die Amerikanerin”.
Ca. 1868-1869, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 115.0 x 88.0 cm.
Menzenschwand: The Winterhalter Museum (Le Petit Salon).
(Wild 1894, 53; BvR 2015: no. 856).
[68ch] Prince Lev Alexandrovitch Chernyshov (1837-64).
1868, Paris (posthumous).
Oil on canvas, 104 x 80 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fr Winterhalter / 1868.
Moscow: The State History Museum.
(Wild 1894, 45, as Le Prince Cornicheff; BvR 2015: no. 547).
[68de-a] Avrora Karlovna Demidova-Karamzina (1808-1902, née Aurora Charlotta Stjernvall).
Ca. 1867-68, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 60.0 x 50.0 cm.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 842).
[68de-b] Maria Elimovna Demidova, Princess di San Donato (1844-68, née Princess Meshcherskaia).
Ca. 1867-68, Paris.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower right: fr Winterhalter / Paris 1868.
Tashkent: The Uzbekistan State Museum of Fine Arts.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 842a).
[68do] Matthieu Dollfuss.
Ca. 1868.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: Mr Matthieu Dollfuss; BvR 2015: no. 843). The sitter could be either Mathieu Dollfus (1799-1887), father of Anne Dollfus, Baronne de Bourgoing (1837-1917 – q.v.); or his son, Mathieu Dollfus (1824-96).
[68go] Mélanie Biederman, Mme Goldschmidt (1834-94).
1868, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 56.1 x 46.5 cm.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower left: fr Winterhalter / Paris 1868.
Paris: Musée National du Louvre.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 844).
[68gr] Victoria, Queen of Great Britain & Ireland (1819-1901).
1868, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 211.8 x 142.2 cm.
Signed and dated as painted in 1868.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 849).
[68mo] Sophie, Duchesse de Morny (1838-96, née Princess Sofia Sergeievna Trubetzkaia, later Duquesa de Albuquerque y de Sesto).
Ca. 1868.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: 45, as La Duchesse de Morny, velour bleu, 1868; BvR 2015: no. 846)
[68mu] Fräulein Marianne Mumm von Schwarzenstein (1844-1923, later Freifreiin von Rotenhan).
Ca. 1868.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: La fille de Mr Mumm; BvR 2015: no. 846a).
[68pu] Countess Genowefa Puslowska (1821-67, née Princess Drucka-Lubecka).
1868, Paris (posthumous).
Oil on canvas, 91.0 x 72.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr.Winterhalter 1868.
Cracow: Collegium Maius, Jagiellonian University.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 848).
[68ru] Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duchess of Russia (1847-1928, later Empress of Russia) and her sister, Alexandra, Princess of Wales (1844-1925, later Queen of Great Britain).
1868, Paris.
Watercolour over pencil, 31.0 x 24.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1868.
Private Collection (sold Christie’s London, 15 June 2011, lot 267, £73,250).
(BvR 2015: no. 845).
[69gr] Portrait of Caroline, Queen of Great Britain & Ireland (1768-1821, née Prinzessin von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel).
1869.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 849a).
[69ca-a] Mme Leon Casso.
1869, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 73.0 x 60.0 cm.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower left: fr Winterhalter / Paris 1869.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 45; BvR 2015: no. 849b).
[69ca-b] Contessa Elisa de Castelvecchio (1826-94, née Mlle Pasteur d’Etreillis).
1869, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 89.0 x 68.5.0 cm
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / Paris 1869.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 854).
[69ku] Frédéric Kuhlmann (1803-81).
1869, Paris.
Oil on canvas, 92.0 x 74.0 cm
Signed and dated: fr Winterhalter 1869.
Lille: Musée des Beaux-Arts.
(BvR 2015: no. 850).
[69pa] Aleksandra Ivanovna Pashkova (1832-xxxx, née Countess Chernysheva-Kruglikova).
1869, Paris.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower right: fr.Winterhalter / Paris 1869.
Tula: Regional Museum of Fine Arts.
(BvR 2015: no. 850a).
[69ru-a] Maria Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess of Russia, Herzogin von Leuchtenberg (1819-76).
1869.
Oil on canvas, 56.0 x 46.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1869.
Moscow: The Pushkin Museum of Fine Art.
(BvR 2015: no. 851).
[69ru-b] Olga, Queen of Württemberg (1822-92, née Grand Duchess of Russia).
1869.
Oil on canvas, 56.0 x 46.0 cm.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 852).
[69zw-a] Portrait of a Lady.
1869.
Oil on canvas, 80.0 x 65.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fr Winterhalter, 1869.
Compiègne: Musée National du Château.
(BvR 2015: no. 855).
[70za] Countess Zofia Zamoyska (1851-1927, née Countess Potocka).
1870.
Oil on canvas, 82.0 x 65.4 cm.
Signed and dated lower right: fx. Winterhalter 1870.
Warsaw: National Museum.
(BvR 2015: no.857).
[70br] Mme Suzanne Bruges de Camps.
1870.
Pencil on paper.
Signed and dated lower right: fr. Winterhalter / 22 Dec 1870.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 856a).
[70zz-a] Still-Life with Flowers (I).
Presumably late 1860s / early 1870s.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 855a).
[70zz-b] Still-Life with Flowers (II).
Presumably late 1860s / early 1870s.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 855b).
[70zz-c] Still-Life with Flowers (III).
Presumably late 1860s / early 1870s.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 855c).
[70zz-d] Stubbenkammer, on the Island of Rügen.
Presumably late 1860s / early 1870s.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 855d).
[70zz-e] The Taunus Valley.
Presumably late 1860s / early 1870s.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 855e).
[71au] Frau Wilhelm Auffm’Ordt (xxxx-1899, née Evelyn Harbeck).
1871.
Oil on canvas, 81 x 62.5 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: frWinterhalter / 1871.
Private Collection.
(Wild 1894, 47; BvR 2015: no. 858).
[71be] Frau Louis von Bernus (1839-90, née Catharina Elisabeth Bettina von Guaita).
Ca. 1871, Frankfurt-am-Main.
Oil on canvas.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 859a).
[71me] Charles Metzler (1835-1922).
Ca. 1871-3, Frankfurt-am-Main.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown (this could be an erroneous reference for a portrait by Hermann Winterhalter).
(BvR 2015: no. 859d).
[71mu] Frau Peter Mumm von Schwarzenstein (1852-1922, née Emma Freiin von Passavant).
Ca. 1871-72, Frankfurt-am-Main.
Oil on canvas.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 859c).
[71ru-a] Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853-1920, later Princess of Great Britain & Ireland, Duchess of Edinburgh, Fürstin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha).
1871.
Oil on board, 75.5 x 65.0 cm.
Signed and dated 1871 lower left.
HRH Alexander II, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.
(BvR 2015: no. 858a).
[71ru-b] Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853-1920, later Princess of Great Britain & Ireland, Duchess of Edinburgh, Fürstin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha).
1871.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1871.
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 858b).
[71zw-a] Portrait of an Unknown Lady.
Ca. 1871-1873.
Charcoal and wash on paper.
On loan to a Regional Gallery from a Private Collection, Russia.
(BvR 2015: no. 858c).
[71zw-b] Femme aux Ribans Roses.
1871.
Oil on board, 65.0 x 53.0 cm.
Signed and dated 1871.
Present location unknown.
(BvR 2015: no. 859).
[72gr] Frau Eduard von Grunelius (1849-1925, née Olga Freiin von Bethmann).
1872, Frankfurt-am-Main.
Oil on canvas, 83.4 x 67.5 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1872.
Frankfurt-am-Main: Städel Museum.
(BvR 2015: no. 859b).
[72ho] Feodora Fürstin zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1807-72, née Prinzessin zu Leiningen).
1872, Baden-Baden.
Oil on canvas on cardboard, 40.6 x 32.4 cm.
Signed and dated: fr Winterhalter 1872.
Collection of HM King Charles III.
(BvR 2015: no. 860).
[72me] Alexandra (Sascha) Metzler (1852-1938, later Gräfin von Schlippenbach).
1872, Frankfurt-am-Main.
Oil on canvas, 92.0 x 74.0 cm
Signed and dated lower right: F Winterhalter / 1872
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 861).
[72zw] Portrait of a Lady.
1872.
Oil on canvas, 90.0 x 70.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1872
Private Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 862).
[73zw] Portrait of a Young Woman.
1873.
Oil on canvas, 73.0 x 59.0 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: fr Winterhalter / 1873.
Private Collection (also known as Portrait of a German Princess).
(BvR 2015: no. 863).
Undated Works
The following section contains the list of paintings which are believed to be by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, but where the dating of the portrait is impossible because of the absence of the image or further archival information.
[XXca] Aglaé Liottier, Comtesse Canclaux (1793-1880)
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894: Comtesse Canclaux; BvR 2015: no. 866).
[XXre] Heinrich XIV Fürst Reuss zu Schleiz (1832-1913)
Medium unknown.
Present location unknown (known from a lithograph after the portrait).
(BvR 2015: no. 881).
[XXta] Maria Taglioni (1804-84)
Pastel on paper on board, 72.5 x 55.0 cm
Missing since 1945 (fmr State Theatre Museum, Berlin).
(BvR 2015: no. 883).
[XXzw-a] Portrait of a Lady in White Dress
Oil on canvas, 89.0 x 71.5 cm.
Signed “F. Winterhalter”, bears a crowned eagle on frame with a coat of arms and letters ‘FR’.
Finnish Museum Collection.
(BvR 2015: no. 879).
[XXzz-a] Neapolitan Scene.
Before 1861.
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown (fmr the Sukhanov Collection, St Petersburg, 1860s).
(BvR 2015: no. 877).
[XXzz-b] Rose Naissante
Oil on canvas.
Present location unknown.
(Wild 1894, 53, as above; BvR 2015: no. 880).
© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg
vonreisberg[at]gmail[dot]com
© Research, information and most images on this page are copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission and full proper acknowledgement.
The Winterhalter Catalogue 
Hello, Eugene. I know that the Pushkin museum refers to no. 851 as being a portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, but isn’t it really a portrait of her sister, Queen Olga of Württemberg? No. 852, which appears to be a copy of 851, would certainly support that. If you compare portraits of the two sisters, by Winterhalter and others, the likeness in 851 seems much more likely to be that of Queen Olga. I don’t know if, for your catalogue, you do much questioning of the owner’s labeling, but I often find that museums unintentionally perpetuate incorrect information, especially when if comes to the subjects of portraits.
As I’ve said before, I’m – thrilled – about your work here. Thank you. Stephen
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Hi Stephen,
While nos 851 and 852 might look similar at a first glance, there are notable differences in the faces of the two women (compare the profile, nose and jaw line); and details of hair – Maria’s ear is totally visible, while Olga’s is partially covered by hair. The texture of hair and details of the waves are also slightly different. Given that the women of the Russian Imperial family were known to play practical jokes by dressing identically – and this includes not only sisters but also mothers and daughters – made me immediately think that something like that may have been behind the nearly identical portraits of the two sisters. Furthermore, the provenance for the two works is different, too. No 851 remained by descent in the family of Maria Nikolaevna in Russia; while the portrait of Queen Olga was recorded by descent in a private collection in Germany, and was reproduced in a number of books on the Queen. Therefore, I have no reason to question that these are two different portraits rather than a copy of one another.
However, if you are aware of documentary evidence to prove otherwise, do not hesitate to bring it forth. Many thanks for your comment!
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Do we know if 851 ever left Russia? If it was merely nationalized after the Revolution, “documentary evidence” gets a little tricky. If the portrait was taken from the collection of GD Maria Nikolaevna, there could have been an assumption that it was a portrait of her. I’m familiar with female relations dressing like each other at that time, but I’ve never seen any examples by Winterhalter of nearly identical representations of – different – siblings or close relations. Have you? While we do know that Winterhalter and his brother produced copies of many of his portraits with the intention that they would be distributed to family members. In this sort of research, documentation can be unreliable, and I think a lot of credence should be given to the likeness; as a portrait artist myself, in spite of the differences you mention, I still think 851 is really Queen Olga. The sisters just didn’t look that much alike.
This may be an odd question, but are we certain that 852 is actually a painting and not a photograph? If it were a preparatory photo, that could explain the discrepancies. Here is another similar image of Queen Olga: http://www.bwtage-moskau.de/de/212.html And another one from a similar angle: http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2650044370094285158eEXKKq Obviously neither by Winterhalter.
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Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your enthusiasm! I am of the opinion, however, that the visible physiognomic differences between the two sisters and of the details within the two portraits, as well as the research on the portraits undertaken to date, point to the fact that these are two separate portraits of Maria and Olga respectively. However, should this be proven otherwise with time and further research, I would be delighted to amend the current entries – in fact I am now questioning identities of the sitters in at least four portraits in the catalogue, and should my research prove to be correct, the catalogue amendments will be posted on the blog.
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While I respectfully disagree, Eugene, this is – your – catalogue, après tout. And cheers to your work here!
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Thank you, Stephen!
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