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

Winterhalter’s ‘Portrait of Countess Olga Esperovna Shuvalova’ @ Christie’s in Paris

I was thrilled to see the above portrait to come up for sale at Christie’s in Paris, in their Tableaux anciens et du XIXème siècle sale on 25 June 2019.

The portrait represents Countess Olga Shuvalova (1838-69, née Princess Beloselskaia-Belozerskaia) at the age of thirty two. She is painted in an oval format, knee-length, seated, against a neutral background of golden-honey yellows. While she is painted en face, her light-brown eyes look upwards; her gaze transcends the picture plane. Her light-brown hair is dressed with a wreath of ivy leaves with garlands of green and purple acacia-style flowers. She is wearing a low-cut evening gown of white tulle, edged with lace, and decorated with an ivy-leaf corsage. A tasseled cream-coloured shawl, thrown over her right shoulder and the right arm, completes the Countess’s toilette. She rests an elbow on her knee, with fingers lightly supporting her chin. Unusually for a portrait of a Russian noblewoman in Winterhalter’s oeuvre, the Countess appears to be wearing no jewellery.

The portrait clearly forms a pendant to the portrait of the sitter’s husband, Count Pavel Shuvalov (1860, oil on canvas, Private Collection, cat. no. 687; illustrated in the previous post). Both portraits are carried out in a similar oval format, are roughly of the similar size, and are framed identically. As such, this is perhaps one of the very few known pendant portraits by Winterhalter of non-royal sitters.

The auction catalogue did not provide clear provenance for the portrait. While further research is still required, it is highly possible that both portraits were at one stage in the Demidov Collection until its dispersal by Christie’s in 1934.

Estimated at EUR 80,000-120,000, the portrait sold for EUR 150,000, demonstrating that the prices for Winterhalter’s portraits on the auction market have remained relatively steady.

The portrait is given a provisional number 688 in the current version of my catalogue raisonné.

© Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, 30 June 2019