Princesse Kotschoubey - Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (St. Blasien 1805- Frankfurt 1873)
"Princess Kotschoubey"
Oil painting on canvas
Canvas size 125 x 105

This extraordinary female portrait, painted in a truly unsurpassed way, is evidently the work of the famous German master F.X. Winterhalter, one of the greatest court portrait painters in post-Napoleonic Europe.
It is a splendid representation of the Ukrainian princess Elena Kotschoubey, residing in a majestic palace in Nice on the French Riviera, then an important Russian colony.
The painting, portrays the princess at a young age, (she will be immortalized later in 1860 in a famous painting now in the Baltimore museum dressed in black. You notice its characteristic mole on the right side of the mouth), and presents itself in all its exceptional beauty with a splendor of lights and colors that is hard to match.
The outdoor context instead of a monochrome background, is unusual for W. and we find it with the same characteristics in his most extraordinary works. (See some examples)
Describing the painting is really difficult as it is rich in virtuosity and dazzling shades.

Biographical notes:
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (Menzenschwand, April 20, 1805 - Frankfurt am Main, July 8, 1873) was a German painter.
He worked in numerous European courts, such as Karlsruhe, Paris, London, Prague and Moscow, performing grandiose portraits of rulers, such as the one for King Louis Philippe of France in 1839 (in Versailles) or the one for Queen Victoria with her family in 1842 at Windsor Castle.
He also painted three very famous portraits of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi) and Empress Eugenie of France had herself portrayed in the guise of Queen Marie Antoinette. Winterhalter is famous for his mastery of faithfully rendering all the folds and tactile characteristics of clothes and hairstyles on the canvas.

The work is still on the first canvas and is in excellent condition.

The beautiful original frame of the painting measures 170 x 145.