Explore Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

K–12 Resource: Close Looking

Read about and take a closer look at this painting of a Russian-German noblewoman

Title

Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

Artist/Maker

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805 - 1873)

Date

1843

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Unframed: 142.2 × 212.1 cm (56 × 83 1/2 in.) Framed [Outer Dim] (Display): 189.2 × 255.3 × 19.7 cm (74 1/2 × 100 1/2 × 7 3/4 in.) Framed [Sight Dim]: 140.3 × 208.6 cm (55 1/4 × 82 1/8 in.)

Object Type

Painting

Credit Line

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 86.PA.534

Assignment

Read About This Painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In a daring pose reminiscent of harem scenes, Princess Leonilla of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn reclines on a low Turkish sofa on a veranda that overlooks a lush tropical landscape. It was only because of her elevated social position that it was possible for Franz Xaver Winterhalter to use such a sensual pose for a full-length portrait in Paris in 1843.

Known for her great beauty and intellect, the princess is dressed in a luxurious gown of ivory silk with a pink sash around her waist. A deep purple mantle wraps around her back and falls across her smooth arms. Under carefully arched eyebrows, her eyes gaze at the viewer as she toys with the large pearls around her neck. Winterhalter contrasted luxurious fabrics and vivid colors against the princess’s pale skin to heighten the sensuality of the pose, the model, and the setting.

Questions

Write or discuss your responses.

  • Portraits can tell us a lot about a person and the time in which they lived. What are your first impressions of this woman? What details in the painting make you say that?

  • Describe the setting (background) and mood of the painting.

  • Describe the body language, posture, and expression of the sitter. What do these details say about her?

  • This portrait is 56 inches high and 83 1/2 inches wide—about the size of a billboard on the side of a bus. Where might it have been displayed in the late 1800s? What does the size say about this portrait?

Glossary

Portraits

Artworks showing what a specific person looks like. A portrait may look a lot like a person or show idealized characteristics.

Related Materials

  1. Meet Franz Xaver Winterhalter

    Reading

    Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

    Read about an artist who painted elegant portraits of European royalty and nobility, making empresses and queens look glamorous in their finest gowns

  2. Comparing Portraits

    Writing

    A painting of a woman solemnly leaning on her arm.

    Compare and contrast two different styles of portraiture and write in the voice of one of the subjects

Related Standards

Credits and Licensing

This page is licensed under the Creative Commons NonCommercial 4.0 International license. You are free to make use of these pages under the terms of this license. Note that individual elements or portions of a page (for example, a copyrighted image) may be excluded from the Creative Commons license. Excluded items are clearly identified.

More from Getty Education