Portrait Paintings

Dramatization of grieving relatives almost became a genre of its own at the end of the 18th century. Here, Lafrensen has depicted the Swedish ambassador in Paris, Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein, wearing a Werther costume and sitting with a melancholic expression on a park bench below the monument to his first-born daughter Gustavine, who died at the age of two in 1789.

The Princesse de Broglie (1825–1860), who adopted the courtesy title 'Princesse'. Born Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Béarn, she married Albert de Broglie, the future 28th prime minister of France, in 1845. Pauline was 28 at the time of the painting's completion. She was highly intelligent and widely known for her beauty, but she suffered from profound shyness and the painting captures her melancholia. Pauline contracted tuberculosis in her early 30s and died in 1860 aged 35. Although Albert lived until 1901, he was heartbroken and did not remarry.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

As a devoted Monarchist and friend of the Queen, Marie-Antoinette, Vigée-Lebrun chose exile during the French Revolution. While in Vienna in 1793, she painted this portrait of Theresia, Countess Kinsky. The Countess was the unfortunate victim of an arranged marriage. Her husband, a man whom she had never met, abandoned her at the church immediately after their wedding, and returned to his mistress. Clearly, Vigée-Lebrun was captivated by the beauty and amiable character of Countess Kinsky, as well as by her sad history.

Carolus-Duran captured this likeness of fellow artist Édouard Manet on a summer day in a garden outside of Paris. Adopting Manet’s loose technique, he rendered the portrait with broad strokes, portraying his friend at ease, slightly flushed and wearing a straw boater hat pushed back on his forehead.

Josef Jüttner (1775 – 1848) was a Czech cartographer and military leader. He was a general in the Imperial Austrian Army and was the author of the first exact map of Prague based on geodetic measurement.

Sitter: Ann Mary Newton (née Severn) (1832-1866). She specialized in portraits of children and worked in crayon, chalk, pastel and watercolour.

This portrait of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen is considered to be one of Eckersberg’s best. The subject is dressed in the black habit of a member of Academia San Lucas. He is gazing into the distance and in the background can be seen his Alexander Frieze for the Quirinal Palace, a reminder that he like Alexander had won renown, but in the field of art. Thorvaldsen was the most famous Dane of his time and spent 40 years in Rome.

Catharine Skelly (1916–1985) grew up in Wilmington, settling in nearby Greenville after her marriage to Joseph A. Wheelock.

Mary (née Savory), Lady Elvey, Fourth wife of Sir George Elvey.

Margareta Charlotta Hårleman was the daughter of the royal gardener and orangery specialist Johan Hårleman. It therefore seems natural to depict her in a garden, but the carnation (dianthus) she is holding also symbolizes Jesus Christ’s suffering, death, resurrection and salvation. Perhaps this is a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. Margareta Charlotta was widowed at the young age of 30 and she passed away two decades later.

Founder of a famous dynasty of artists, he was the father of Federico Madrazo , Pedro Madrazo , Luis Madrazo and Juan de Madrazo , grandfather of Raimundo Madrazo , Ricardo Madrazo and Cecilia de Madrazo , and great-grandfather of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo .

Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States

Antonio Canova (1757 - 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists.

Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, United States

Depicted Person: Andreas Frederik Vilhelm Hansen (1873 - 1924)

Sarah Lethieullier, Lady Fetherstonhaugh (1722-1788), was the daughter of Christopher Lethieullier and Sarah Lascelles. She married Matthew Fetherstonhaugh in 1746.