Though he was less famous than his elder brother Franz-Xaver, Hermann Winterhalter was also a successful portraitist. He often made use of the same codes and technique and reached such a high level of quality that their works are often confused.

 

Dated 1854 (a few years only before the Portrait of Countess Mélanie de Pourtalès, (see previous lot), the present work depicts most probably Clémentine de Boubers (1829-1861), the wife of Louis Paul Renouard de  Bussière (1827-1910). He was the brother of Mélanie de Pourtalès, née Renouard de Bussière, which explains why this portrait was kept in Martinvast.

 

The similarity with another Portrait of Clémentine de Boubers (1857) by Franz-Xaver Winterhalter makes the identification of our sitter with Clémentine highly probable.

 

Little is known about Clémentine de Boubers, who passed away in 1861, a few years after the portrait was achieved.

 

Hermann Winterhalter opted for a pose that gives the portrait a poetic charm. Dressed in white satin, the sitter is facing us. Her face, surrounded by thick and beautiful brown hair, is turned to the right. The young woman's gaze extends beyond the frame, creating the impression that she is absorbed in thoughts the viewer cannot grasp.