Mademoiselle Sontag, after Winterhalter
Henriette Sontag was one of the leading operatic and concert sopranos of her time. Fiocchi was a pupil of Ingres and 'Isabey' (presumably Jean-Baptiste). He never exhibited at the Paris Salon, but achieved sufficient renown to be commissioned by the state in 1855 to paint a copy in miniature of Winterhalter's full-length portrait of the Empress Eugénie. His miniatures are rare, and it is perhaps surprising that there are as many as four in the Wallace Collection - suggesting that he may have been known personally to Lord Hertford or Richard Wallace. A label on the back of the Wallace Collection's miniature, 'Winterhalter 8br. 1842', suggests that the miniature is after Franx Xavier Winterhalter, which may well be partially correct - the style and composition recall Winterhalter's works, but of the late 1840s and early 1850s, rather than 1842.
1852
Watercolour on ivory
16.5 x 13.4cm
M105
Images and text © Wallace Collection, 2017
Where you'll find this
The Wallace Collection
Permanent collection