My Visit to the Getty Center *10.31.2010*

This piece of artwork is a Portrait of Princess Leonilla of Sayn-Wiltgenstein-Sayn, 1843, done by artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter. This particular piece is located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Ca.

I am originally from Los Angeles and LOVE the Getty Center, so I decided to go there for this project and the also the group project that was done a couple of weeks ago. I took a bunch of pictures of still lifes and portraits, and this is one portrait that really stood out to me.

I was drawn to this piece because of the intricate detail. I'm not sure if you can really tell by looking at the picture, but in real life, the detail on this painting is amazing! I am a fashion design major, so to see how the artist did the detail on her dress simply amazed me. The pink ribbon tied around her waist looks to be satin, and the robe thrown around her shoulders looks to be velvet. She's got a pretty set of pearls around her neck and wrist. This portrait is symbolizing the wealth this lady holds. It seems as if she is waiting on servants or for someone. She looks real relaxed.

This painting was commissioned by Louis-Phillipe, the king of the French. Winterhalter was asked personally to make individual portraits of his large family. Winterhalter gained much recognition for his work, earning him a "reputation of a specialist of dynastic and aristocratic portraiture, skilled in combing likeness with flattery and enlivening official popm with modern fashion". Franz Xaver Winterhalter's early pieces were Neo-Classical, but his style can be described as "Neo-Rococo".

The elegant portraits that Winterhalter did were clearly made for the rich! These were huge and luxurious portraits that he spent a great deal of time perfecting. I think he did a good job! ;)