his sitters to create almost theatrical compositions, but also was a virtuoso in the art of conveying the texture of fabrics, furs and jewellery, to which he paid no less attention than to the face. He painted very rapidly and very fluently, designing most of his compositions directly in the canvas. His portraits are elegant, refined, lifelike, and pleasantly idealized. Concerning Winterhalter's method of working, it is thought that, practiced as he was at drawing and representing figures, he painted directly onto the canvas without making preliminary studies. He frequently decided upon the dress and pose of the sitter. His style was suave, cosmopolitan and plausible. Many of the portraits were copied in his workshop or reproduced as lithographs. As an artist he remained a difficult figure to place; there are few painters with whom to compare him, and he does not fit into any school. His early affinities were Neoclassical but his style can be described as Neo-Rococo. After his death, his painting fell out of favor, being considered romantic, glossy, and superficial. Little was known about him personally and his art was not taken seriously until recently. However, a major exhibition of his work at the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) in London and the Petit Palais in Paris in 1987 brought him into the limelight again. His paintings are exhibited today in leading European and American museums. All artworks Notes References Ormond, Richard, and Blackett-Ord, Carol, Franz Xaver Winterhalter and the Courts of Europe, 1830–70, Exh. cat. National Portrait Gallery, London, 1987. . Reisberg von, Eugene Barilo. Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805–1873) Catalogue Raisonne, BvR Arts Management, 2007, . Kessler Aurisch, Helga et alii: High society: the portraits of Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers; Houston: In association with The Museum of Fine Arts, Augustinermuseum, Städtische Museen Freiburg, Palais de Compiegne, 2015. Burlion Emmanuel, Franz Xaver et Hermann Winterhalter , Brest, 2016, 175 pages. Barilo von Reisberg, Eugene Arnold : Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805–1873): portraiture in the age of social change'', School of Culture and Communication, 2016, External links Winterhalter in Menzenschwand franzxaverwinterhalter.wordpress J. Paul Getty Trust Olga's Gallery – Online Art Museum Artcyclopedia 1805 births 1873 deaths People from Sankt Blasien People from the Electorate of Baden German romantic painters Academic art Court painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery Romantic painters