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Louis-Philippe de Bourbon
Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Versailles |
Celebrated portrait artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) was commissioned to paint the most notable and powerful people of his day. Empress Eugenie, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were just a few of his notable sitters. His many portraits of
Queen Victoria are some of the finest representations of the queen. As dynasties rose and fell and as kings and queens were succeeded by their heirs, Winterhalter remained the premier painter. He was considered the best. But, he didn’t do it alone. Winterhalter achieved the position of fashionable portrait artist to royalty after the influence of one particular royal—King Louis-Philippe of France.
King Louis-Philippe always stayed abreast of current trends in the arts. Winterhalter’s growing reputation in France made him a desirable commodity, so, the king appointed him official court painter. Winterhalter set about painting portraits of each member of Louis-Philippe’s large family—over thirty in total. This painting of Louis-Philippe himself shows Winterhalter’s fine hand and dramatic flare—the very qualities that kept him in fashion for so long.
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