artismydeepersoul:

Elisabeth, Empress of Austria known as “Sissi”.

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/176571488888.

artofrestraint:

Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Barbara Dmitrievna Mergassov Rimsky-Korsakova, 1864

Reposted from http://ift.tt/2uVqz16.

spoutziki-art:

Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, nee Baryatinsky, 1843 (detail)

Previously obsessed about here, here, and here.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/2rUOlWg.

c0ssette:

Portrait of a Lady,detail,Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Reposted from http://ift.tt/2mFYtCo.

steepravine:

Late Night Special: Hummer Humming

(Mount Tamalpais, California – 4/2014)

Today’s fun fact: I’ve known the Anna’s Hummingbird since I started birdwatching as a kid. It’s definitely a fave. But I never knew until this morning who the bird’s namesake was.

From the Anna’s Hummingbird on Wikipedia:

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna), a medium-sized hummingbird native to the west coast of North America, was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli.^[2]

But who was Anna Masséna you ask?

Anne Debelle, Princesse d’Essling (1802 – 1887), was a French courtier. She served as Grand-Maitresse (Mistress of the Robes) to Empress Eugénie de Montijo in 1853-1870.

But but but… That would mean she’s in that famous Winterhalter painting of Eugénie. And so she is!

She’s the lady in the pink dress! I love that of all of them she’s the one who’s focused, hummingbird-like, on the nearby spray of flowers.

Follow-up fun fact: as Mistress of the Robes, Anna was in charge of Eugénie’s ladies in waiting, controlled the empress’s appointment schedule, and appeared with her at important events. She was about 53 when this painting was made.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/2aRyRyM.

thegetty:

A sensual portrait of a Princess

The artist could only get away with such a sensuous full-length portrait, reminiscent of harem scenes and odalisques, because of the Princess’ unassailable social position. 

Her gently arched eyebrows and gaze out to the viewer acknowledges you who stands before her.

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Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 1843, Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum.

This painting is amazing. You have to go stand in front of it. Go. Stand in front of it.

I’ll wait.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1JdTY1J.

bagarres:

fun fact: you can explore museums on google street view 

I’d seen this mentioned, but never actually tried it out. So I did, and one of the first museums I noticed that they had was the Getty in L.A.:

And I thought I recognized the large painting in the thumbnail, so I clicked through, and yeah! They chose to start the Street View tour in front of that Winterhalter painting with the crazy-awesome silk moire patterns that I geeked out about after my visit there:

And then I started getting really excited, because I was pretty sure that the portrait that started my whole Sargent obsession was on the other side of that wall, hanging in the next room behind the Winterhalter. So I hurried through the doorway and turned around and…

Aw, nuts. That’s the painting, of Thérèse, Countess Clary Aldringen, but apparently they didn’t secure the rights from its current owners, the Greif family, so it’s blurred out in Street View.

So I had to go back and stare at the images of it that I posted after my visit.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Looking at images of it on the computer is looking at images of it on the computer. To really feel that rush I probably need to make a trip back to the Getty and see it in person.

But I’m definitely going to spend more time doing the art museum tours in Street View. It has at least a taste of that in-person excitement.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1dLlqW6.

its-versailles:

The Empress Eugénie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting (1855) by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Château de Compiègne.

I love how with Winterhalter it’s always about the dresses. And I love the subversive way he’s almost, but not quite, taken the focus off Empress Eugénie and placed it on green-dress lady in the front of the group (or rather, on her dress).

Winterhalter was the son of a peasant farmer and originally trained as a draughtsman and lithographer before becoming the favorite portraitist of European royalty. This painting, of the wife of Napoleon III, France’s last monarch and first elected president, is considered his masterpiece.

Wikipedia links:

• Franz Xaver Winterhalter
• Eugégnie de Montijo
• Napoleon III
• large image (1,346 × 934) of The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting 

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1lRfUu6.

rococo-girls-shrine:

vega-ofthe-lyre:

WINTERHALTER’S WOMEN

#wardrobe goals

Adding details, because I’m weird that way. In order:

• Empress Elisabeth of Austria in dancing dress, 1865
• Portrait of a Lady, 1860
• Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, 1857
• Pauline Sandor, Princess Metternich, 1860
• Portrait of Countess Varvara Musina-Pushkina, “after 1857”
• Varvara Rimskaya-Korsakova, 1864

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/59984240409.

Pretty dresses at the Getty, second of three. From the Getty placard:

Portrait of Princess Leonilla of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (1843)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805-1873; active in France from 1834)

Oil on canvas

Winterhalter flattered his aristocratic patrons with suave compositions that conveyed their wealth and sophistication. Typical of his clientele was Leonilla (1816-1918), a Russian-born princess active in fashionable Parisian circles. She is portrayed reclining on a luxurious carpet amid silk bolsters on the portico of a seaside palace. Although the setting was considered exotic and her pose daring, the sumptuous gown is a reminder of Leonilla’s refined background.

[me again]

This portrait dominates its side of the room. When I entered I noticed a couple examining the lower part of the painting, and I wondered what they were looking at. When I got a chance to approach closer I understood; the moiré patterns Winterhalter painted in the silk gown are amazing.

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/43812418882.