Franz X. Winterhalter, Pauline Sándor, Princess Metternich, 1860
oil on canvas, private collection.
Portraits of Franz X. Winterhalter at MFAH Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, opens ‘High Society: The Portraits of Franz X. Winterhalter’, an exhibition of some 45 paintings by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, the most renowned portraitist of the courts of Europe during his day. April 17 to August 14, 2016.]]>
Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Throughout the course of his career, Winterhalter (1805–1873) captured the elegance of his aristocratic sitters with an unrivaled brilliance of technique and sensitivity of touch. Complementing his canvases are a number of garments fashioned by sought-after 19th-century couturier Charles Frederick Worth (1825–1895) and several of his contemporaries. Featuring works drawn from public, private, and royal collections around the world, the exhibition is on view in Houston from April 17 to August 14, 2016, between its presentation at the Städtische Museen Freiburg, Germany, and the Musée du Château de Compiègne, France.
“Winterhalter’s portraits provide the most vivid and lasting impression of the European courts during their last hurrah,” said Gary Tinterow, MFAH director. “While each of the monarchs, noblemen and women were frequently photographed during their reigns, it is often a Winterhalter portrait that provides the strongest impression of those individuals, magnificent images that still ring true today. Like van Dyck before him, and John Singer Sargent afterwards, Winterhalter had an uncanny gift for noble portraiture.”
“Winterhalter had an extraordinary talent in capturing the likeness of his subject and in evoking the sensuousness of skin, hair, and luxurious fabrics,” said Helga Aurisch, curator of European art. “This exhibition places his work in direct comparison with actual costumes from the period, which brings new insight into his use and interpretation of fashion, a factor of utmost importance to his success as the ultimate painter of the high society.”
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