European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Portrait of Countess Marie Branicka de Bialacerkiew [née Princess Sapicka] 1865 Franz Xaver Winterhalter, German, 1805 - 1873 Oil on canvas Currently not on view 1973-252-1 Purchased with the Edward G. Budd, Jr. Memorial Fund, 1973 |
LabelThe Countess Marie Branicka de Bialacerkiew belonged to a socially prominent and wealthy Polish family living in Paris, where this portrait was painted. Winterhalter was renowned for his portraits of the aristocracy of Europe, including paintings of Queen Victoria and Emperor Napoleon III.ProvenanceCountess Marie-Rose (Roza) Branicka Radziwill (1863-1941) (daughter of the sitter), Rome [1]; probably by descent to her grandson Prince Lubomirski [2]; sale, Prince Lubomirski, Christie's, London, July 27-28, 1972, no. 394 (as "Portrait of a Lady", illus.); purchased by Ferrers Gallery, London; sold to PMA, 1973. 1. According to a letter from the Countess Marie Rey, a member of the Branicki family (20 April 2005, in curatorial file), the portrait was placed at the Polish Embassy in Rome after Marie-Rose Radziwill's death; presumably the painting was still in the possession of the family. 2. According to a letter from Lady Jane Abdy of Ferrers Gallery (12 September 1973, in curatorial file), Lubomirski was the sitter's grandson. He was more likely a great-grandson of the sitter, one of the six sons of Marie Branicka's granddaughter Princess Teresa Radziwill (1889-1975) (daughter of Countess Marie-Rose Branicka Radziwill) and Prince Hubert Lubomirski (1875-1939), who were married in 1911. |
