Viennese Romance

I cannot stop reminiscing about Vienna and all of its beauty after watching the 2010 New Year's Concert video... For me, Vienna is like the jewel on an exquisite crown - perfectly elegant, and as the Chinese adage goes, "paints the eyes of the dragon."

I have combined these gorgeous short clips from Vienna's New Year Concerts with some lovely paintings which I find to be emanating the same fragrance and aura.





Franz Xavier Winterhalter, L'Impératrice Eugénie et ses dames de compagnies (The Empress Eugénie Surrounded by Her Ladies in Waiting), 1855, Château de Compiègne. Taking its inspiration from 18th-century bucolic scenes, this monumental composition sets the sovereign and her entourage against the backdrop of a shady clearing in a forest. However, the composition is very artificial and formal. The empress, slightly to the left of center, is encircled by and dominates the group. {via Wikipedia}

Franz Xavier Winterhalter, Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria, with Diamond Stars on Her Hair, 1865, Hofburg, Vienna.

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Mada Primavesi, 1912.





(*All paintings below by Edgar Degas)