Portrait of the Prince de Wagram and his Daughter Malcy, 1837 (cat. no. 131)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Portrait of Napoléon-Alexandre Berthier, 2^e Prince et Duc de Wagram (1810-1887), with his daughter,

Mlle Malcy Berthier de Wagram, Princesse Murat (1832-1884)

1837, oil on canvas, 186.0 x 138.0 cm, Private Collection

Winterhalter’s portrait of  Napoléon-Alexandre Berthier, 2^e Prince et Duc de Wagram, with his daughter, Mlle Malcy Berthier de Wagram, Princesse Murat was exhibited at the 1987/88 Winterhalter exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Petit Palais in Paris. Carol Blackett-Ord wrote in the exhibition catalogue regarding this portrait (p. 179):

“The Prince de Wagram is seated with his daughter, Malcy-Louise-Caroline-Frédérique on a Louis-XIII-style double seat. He wears a black double-breasted frock coat and black trousers with an instep under his shoe. His black silk cravat is held with a pearl pin. The girl wears a white silk and muslin frock, the bodice trimmed with lace, with crimson velvet bows at the sleeves and in her hair. With one leg tucked under her, she lays a trusting hand on her father’s sleeve. A greyhound looks up from the left, a symbol of fidelity and an allusion to family devotion.

“The painting marked a turning point in Winterhalter’s career in France. Hitherto, he had been celebrated for his genre work. At the 1838 Salon, Winterhalter showed three paintings, two of which were portraits… Henceforth, Winterhalter’s professional competence as a portrait artist was recognised. He could treat a life-size subject, and handle realism or affecting charm with equal success…

© Eugene Barilo von Reisberg 2012.

Portrait of Graf von Langenstein und Gondelsheim, 1834 (cat. no. 97)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Portrait of Ludwig Graf von Langenstein und Gondelsheim (1820-1870)

1834, oil on canvas, 96.3 x 79.5 cm, Private Collection

Winterhalter’s portrait of Ludwig Graf von Langenstein und Gondelsheim was exhibited at the 1987/88 Winterhalter exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Petit Palais in Paris. Carol Blackett-Ord wrote in the exhibition catalogue regarding this portrait (p. 177):

” The boy leans cross-legged against a rock and turns a full gaze upon the spectator. He wears a black waistcoat under a short, waisted black jacket with a high shawl collar, dark brown trousers and carries a riding crop in his right hand. The landscape is sketched in autumnal colours against a sky of massing grey clouds. Winterhalter has captured the youthful vitality of his subject with great aplomb. The boy’s tousled hair, ruddy cheeks and parted lips combine to create an image of exceptional freshness and charm…”

© Eugene Barilo von Reisberg 2012.

Portrait of Sophie Wilhelmine Großherzogin von Baden, c.1832 (cat. no. 69)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Portrait of Sophie Wilhelmine Großherzogin von Baden, née Princess of Sweden (1801-1865)

c. 1832, oil on canvas, 39.5 x 29 cm, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Thomas L. Fawick Memorial Collection

Winterhalter’s portrait of Sophie Wilhelmine, Großherzogin von Baden, was exhibited at the 1987/88 Winterhalter exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Petit Palais in Paris. Carol Blackett-Ord wrote in the exhibition catalogue regarding this portrait (p. 176):

“In this small whole-length portrait, Grand Duchess Sophie of Baden stands in a white dress in a landscape. She is in the fashionable attire of the early 1830s, with broad puffed sleeves, ankle-length skirt and laced pumps. A brown paisley shawl accentuates her hour-glass silhouette, while her hairstyle culminates in an elaborate plaited ‘Apollo’ knot. She leans against a mossy boulder on which a portfolio of drawings has been laid, and flowers spill out of an upturned bonnet at her feet. Formally, the portrait encapsulates the perfect polish of Biedermeier taste, and yet the scene is also deeply Romantic: the beauty of the young woman is rendered poignant and vulnerable against the threatening dark of the forest.”

© Eugene Barilo von Reisberg 2012.

Architect Karl Josef Berckmüller, 1830 (cat. no. 43)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Portrait of Karl Josef Berckmüller (1800-79)

 1830, Munich, oil on canvas; 96 x 72.3 cms;  Musée de Picardie, Amiens

Winterhalter’s portrait of Karl Josef Berckmüller (1800-79) was exhibited at the 1987/88 Winterhalter exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Petit Palais in Paris. Carol Blackett-Ord wrote in the exhibition catalogue regarding this portrait (p. 174):

“The architect is poised, as if explaining a point on the plan before him, with his head turned to the right. The attributes of his profession, a ground plan and a set of callipers, are in front of him, but attention is focused upon a fine study of his hands. The diagonals of the crossed hands are echoed in the sitter’s splayed open collar. An atypical form of signature, with Roman letters and numerals, appear as though carved into the architectural background. There are good grounds for identifying the sitter in the portrait as Winterhalter’s close friend, Karl Josef Berckmüller. He had qualified as an architect the previous year, and had further established himself by marrying the daughter of Baron von Eichthal, Winterhalter’s great benefactor. The picture appears to be the Portrait of a Man, shown at the Public Art Exhibition at Karlsruhe in May 1832 (no. 82). It received qualified praise in Kunstblatt, 11 October 1832 : “The artist has reproduced here, as it were alla prima, the firm features of a handsome male face with great boldness and assurance. The likeness is so vivid that one believes one is seeing the original. With this portrait as in all Mr Winterhalter’s portraits, one must acknowledge his great talent for portraiture; but we cannot fail to comment adversely on the fact that this hasty manner of painting is unworthy of the great talent we have praised.” ”

Philip Mansel added the following biographical note on the sitter (ibid.): “Karl Josef Berckmüller (1800-79) was the son of a prominent builder of Karlsruhe, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden. He was, himself, to become a government architect. One of his most important works was the building to house the Grand Ducal Collections on the Friedrichsplatz in Karlsruhe.”

© Eugene Barilo von Reisberg 2012.

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