Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805 - 1873) was the best-known, most popular and best-paid princely painter of his time. He was in and out of all the courts of Europe and documented the European aristocracy in its entirety with his paintings. The work of the two brothers should be regarded and preserved as a valuable European cultural heritage.
The name Le Petit Salon is a reminder of Franz Xaver Winterhalter's first major artistic breakthrough in 1837, which he achieved at the "Salon de Paris". He won a 1st class medal.
The interior is furnished in the late Biedermeier style. It displays original lithographs, letters that the brothers wrote to their father in Menzenschwand, drawings, sketches and much more. The meagre, poor background (the father was from Harz) of the two boys is described. Despite the tremendous career they made, Franz Xaver and Hermann Winterhalter always remained connected to the community of Menzenschwand and gave a lot of support and help to the village. Souvenirs with images of Winterhalter paintings, postcards and photo books are on sale.
The exhibition conveys the exceptional status that Franz Xaver Winterhalter enjoyed at the English court and in particular with Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria took drawing lessons from Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The drawings she produced under his guidance are on display. On special occasions, the Queen gave the artist books with a dedication. These will also be on display. Lithographs after Winterhalter's paintings round off the exhibition and also demonstrate this special connection between the Queen and the artist.
New: iPad and iPhone app on Franz Xaver Winterhalter
The free app(available here) presents the artist's work as a tangible, multimedia experience.