Franz Xaver Winterhalter: The French Court

"Portrait of King Louis-Philippe"
by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

"Franz Xaver Winterhalter had arrived on the Paris scene at a fortunate moment. Following the Revolution of 1830, Louis-Philippe revealed a reverence for the past achievements of his country which he hoped to emulate. At Versailles, he had established a national pantheon, transforming part of the palace into a museum, and filling it with pictures of personalities and events famous in French history. It was within this framework of historiography that he decided to commission a series of full-length portraits of himself and his family. He was an unusually proud father, and his sons were encouraged to play a prominent part in public and military affairs. The idea of a dynastic portrait gallery, which would satisfy the demands of official imagery, naturally appealed to the King.

It is difficult to know the reasons which lay behind the choice of Winterhalter for this work. Some think that he had come to the king's attention through the artist's portraits of his daughter, Louise-Marie, Queen of the Belgians, and her husband, King Leopold I. Also at that time, the older generation of portraitists had died. Of the big names in French art at the time, few were interested in undertaking official portrait commissions. Winterhalter's chief rivals were men of second rank. For a foreigner to take the prize after only four years in Paris is a tribute to the court's nose for talent, and evidence of the influence which the artist could call on to support his case.

Winterhalter executed more than thirty commissions for Louis-Philippe. His state portraits of the King and Queen became the accepted images of the Royal couple, and Winterhalter the established painter at court. A set of whole-lengths of the King's sons and daughters, as well as their spouses and children, was painted over the course of the next six years, and this was supplemented by portraits of other Royal personages. The largest commission came in 1844, when he was asked to record the King's reception at Windsor Castle on the occasion of his state visit to England. For the thirty pictures or so listed as painted for the King in his accounts (which are by no means comprehensive), Winterhalter received over 70,000 francs. When the sum raised through the mass-production of copies is taken into account (800 francs apiece), as well as the copyright in prints, it is clear that Winterhalter was not only successful but also rich. The award of the Légion d'Honneur in 1839 put the stamp of Royal approval on his achievement."

To be continued

(Excerpts from the introduction by Richard Ormund, to "Franz Xaver Winterhalter and the Courts of Europe 1830-70.")