Franz Xaver Winterhalter Girl from the Sabine Hills, 1834 Oil on canvas 29 1/4 x 25 inches, 74.5 x 63 cm Signed, lower right: FW
Franz Xaver Winterhalter Girl from the Sabine Hills, 1834 Oil on canvas 29 1/4 x 25 inches 74.5 x 63 cm Signed, lower right: FW AG 8523
Provenance: The Artist, 1834; from whom acquired for the Badischer Kunstverein lottery, 7 December 1834. (Possibly) Sold by lottery at the Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, by 1837. Frau C. S., et al.; their sale, Rudolf Bangel, Frankfurt am Main, 25-27 September 1907, lot 149, as Schlafende Italienerin im Grunen; where acquired by: Albert Dessoff, Frankfurt. Galerie Stern, Dusseldorf, by 1937; their forced sale, "Die Bestande Der Galerie Stern Dusseldorf," Lempertz, Cologne, 13 November 1937, lot 181, as Madchen aus den Sabiner Bergen; where acquired by: Karl Heinrich Christian Wilharm, Hofgeismar, Germany, 1937-1956; by descent to: Countess Lilli von Platen-Hallermund, Hofgeismar, Germany, 1956-1991; by descent to: Maria-Luise Franziska Eugenie Elisabeth Christa Bissonnette, nee Freiin von Morsey and formerly Youmans, Woonsocket and Providence, Rhode Island; Consigned by the above to Estates Unlimited, Cranston, Rhode Island, 6 January 2005, lot 1098 (withdrawn). Restituted to the heirs of Max Stern in December 2008. Dr. and Mrs. Max Stern Foundation, Montreal, 2008-present. Exhibitions: Karlsruhe, Badischer Kunstverein Ausstellung (Fine Art Society Exhibition), 1834, as Schlafende Italienerin, lent by the artist. Kassel, Stadtische Kunstsammlungen, "Ein Jahrhundert romantische Malerei: von Martin v. Rohden (1778-1868) bis Louis Kolitz (1845- 1914)," June 1952, no. 142, as Schlafede junge Italienerin, lent by Dr. Wilharm. Montreal, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2009-2018. Literature: "Nachrichten, Karlsruhe," Morgenblatt fur gebildete Stande, no. 144, Stuttgart (17 June 1834), p. 576, as Schlefende Albaneserin. "Kunstausstellung in Karlsruhe," Morgenblatt fur gebildete Stande / Kunstblatt, no. 60, Stuttgart and Tubingen (28 July 1835), pp. 249-250, as Unter Einem Baume Schlafende Albaneserin. Georg Kaspar Nagler, Neues al emeines Kunstler-Lexikon, vol. 21, Vienna, 1851, p. 547, as Eine Unter dem Baume Schlafende Albaneserin. Abendblatt der Wiener Zeitun, no. 68 (21 March 1856), p. 270. 2
"Nekrologe; Franz Xaver Winterhalter," Beiblatt zur Zeitschriftfur Bildende Kunst, vol. 8, no. 52 (10 October 1873), p. 836. "Studien zur Charakteristik bedeutender Kiinstler der Gegenwart: Franz Winterhalter," Die Dioskuren: Deutsche Kunstzeitung, Hauptorgan Der Deutschen Kunstvereine (12 October 1873), p. 294. Hyacinth Holland, "Winterhalter," Allemeine Deutsche Biographie, Leipzig, 1875 and 1898, vol. 43, p. 498. Georg Kaspar Nagler, Neues al emeines Kunstler-Lexikon, vol. 24, Vienna, 1924, pp. 455-456, as eine unter dem Baume schlafende Albaneserin. Friedrich von Boetticher, Malerwerke des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts: Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte, vol. 2, part 2, Leipzig, 1948, p. 1027, no. 36, as Siesta. Junge Italienerin, an einem Baum gelehnt, schlummernd, incorrectly described as reproduced in mezzotint by Henry Cousins. "Auosung der Galerie Stern," Internationale Sammler-Zeitung, no. 19 (1 December 1937), p. 205. Die Weltkunst, vol. 11, no. 46 (21 November 1937), p. 6. Emil Baader, "Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873), der Europaische Fiirstenmaler," Badische Heimat, 1960, no. 40, p. 370, as Schalfende Albaneserin. Armin Panter, Studien zu Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873), PhD dissertation, Universitat Karlsruhe, 1996, pp. 60-61, 230, under cat. no. 42. Jurgen Glocker, "Fruher Ruhm und rasches Vergessen: zur 'Vorgeschichte' der Bonndorfer Ausstellung 'Das Fruhwerk: Franz Xaver Winterhalter zum 200. Gerburtstag," Heimat am Hochrhein: Jahrbuch des Landkraises Waldshut, no. 31 (2006), p. 85. Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): Cataloiue Raisonne, Melbourne, 2007, pp. 19-20, cat. no. 86. Catherine MacKenzie, ed., Auktion 392: Reclaimini the Galerie Stern, Dusseldorf, exh. cat., Montreal, Faculty of Fine Art Gallery, Concordia University, 20 October 2006-31 August 2008, pp. 16, 47, cat. no. 181. Emmanuel Burlion, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1805-1873, Brest, 2011, pp. 6, 38. Sara Angel, "The Secret Life of Max Stern," The Walrus, 15 October 2014. Van L. Hayhow, "Is There an Effective US Legal Remedy for Original Owners of Art Looted During the Nazi Era in Europe?," Master's thesis, Harvard University Extension School, 2015, pp. 39-61. Lena J. Reuber, in Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): portraits de cour, entrefaste et elegance, ed. Helga Kessler Aurisch et al., Paris, 2016, p. 230, under cat. no. 88, incorrectly as attributed to Hermann Winterhalter. Lena J. Reuber, in High Society: The Portraits of Franz Xaver Winterhalter, ed. Helga Kessler Aurisch et al., Stuttgart and Houston, 2016, p. 228, under cat. no. 88, incorrectly as attributed to Hermann Winterhalter. Emmanuel Burlion, Franz Xaver & Hermann Winterhalter, Brest, 2016, pp. 12, 70, 136, cat. no. 95. Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): Portraiture in the Age of Social Change, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Melbourne, Australia, 2016, pp. 377 -378, cat. no. 23. Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, The Winterhalter Catalogue: Online Catalogue Raisonne, https:// franzxave rwinterhalter.wordpress.com /, cat. no. 86. __________________________
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Condition Report, February 2020
MARIA IOSIFESCU PAINTINGS CONSERVATION 310 WEST 99 STREET, #507, NEW YORK, NY 10025 (646) 431 3293
maria.iosifescu@gmail.com
February 7th, 2020 Condition Report Winterhalter Franz Xaver Winterhalter Girl from the Sabine Hills Signed lower right: FW Oil on canvas
29 ¼ x 25 inches (74.5 x 63 cm)
The painting is in overall very good condition. The lining appears to be a few years old, a Beva 371 adhesive lining done on the vacuum table. The original tacking edges were saved. The original canvas, a twill-weave linen, (texture visible in raking light), is securely attached to the lining support and the surface is flat and smooth, without any distortions. Some of the impasto has been lightly flattened in in a previous lining, but most of it remains in excellent shape with good relief – for instance in the embroidered sash across the sitter’s waist. The colors are fresh and vibrant, even though under UV light examination traces of old varnish are still visible.
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UV light examination The fluorescence is uneven, and upon close examination it is evident that this is due to an intentional selective cleaning of the older varnish. During the previous cleaning the darker pigments were only lightly cleaned, with a certain amount of the old varnish left in place, so as to protect those pigments, which are generally more soluble. Some areas fluoresce darkly (in contrast to the milky green of the old varnish), and at first glance could be mistaken for retouches. These are in fact cleaned intact passages of original paint. In one of these areas -the group of trees covering the horizon line in the middle ground on the left—one can clearly see upon magnification the twill texture of the original surface and some of the old varnish residues ingrained in the diagonal lines of the canvas texture, indicating an area where the varnish was partially removed, rather than a retouched area. In contrast, upon closer inspection it is clear where the few recent retouches are present -- done with very small, precise touches of a very fine brush. There are spots of minor retouching scattered in the upper sky and foliage areas, as well as spots along the edges and corners, some light retouching on the girl’s upper forehead, a thin inverse V shaped line of retouching on the blouse under her chin, a larger area of glazing in the folds of the green skirt, and a smaller half oval shaped retouch area in the green on the bottom edge. The latest conservation campaign –consisting of light cleaning, retouching and relining-- was done very well, respecting the integrity of the original. Examined on February 7, 2020. Maria Iosifescu
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