The Empress Eugénie (Eugénie de Montijo, 1826–1920, Condesa de Teba)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter

1854 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

Winterhalter began an official portrait of Empress Eugénie (Eugénie de Montijo, Condesa de Teba, 1826-1920) shortly after her marriage in 1853 to Napoleon III, emperor of France, but it was not exhibited until 1855. The present work is, in contrast, relatively intimate in scale and effect. It shows the empress in a Second Empire adaptation of an eighteenth-century gown. Her interest in the previous century, especially her fascination with Marie Antoinette, queen of France from 1774 to 1793, is well documented.

Artist

Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Date

1854

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Claus von Bülow Gift, 1978