L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e ~ D o s t o ï e v s k i

L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e  ~  D o s t o ï e v s k i



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Winterhalter's back-lighting: the radiant female



Some of my favorite Winterhalter portraits are those that are back-lit; the soft, reflected light molds the features so delicately, the skin seems to glow from within.

Sophie, duchesse de Morny, née Princess Troubetzkaia, 1863.
Princess Elizaveta Esperovna Troubetzkaia, née Princess Belosselskaia-Belozerskaia, 1859.
Queen Victoria, 1845.
Leonilla, Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, née Princess Bariatinskaia, circa 1849.
Princess Olympiada Vladimirovna Bariatinskaia, née Sablukova, 1863.
Anne, comtesse de Plaisance, later duchesse de Plaisance, née Bertier de Wagram, 1838.
Pauline, Fürstin von Metternich-Winneburg, née Gräfin Sandór, 1860.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1864.  (Copy).
Victoire, duchesse de Nemours, née Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, 1840.  (Copy - the original is an oval.)
Jeune Fille de l’Ariccia, 1838.



2 comments:

  1. Early Hurrell? just stunning the way he manipulated the lighting.

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  2. I love Winterhalter,, just so lovely but there is something unnatural about the Empress's hair and Queen Victorias pearls are not quite that big! My favorite picture of his has to be Empress Eugenie and her Ladies, all sitting around on the grass in those huge Worth crinolines.

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