Circle of Franz Xaver WINTERHALTER (German 1805 - 1873) Oil on Canvas Acquired from Sotheby's Galerie du Monde 73 x 64 cm "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" depicts a young man staring thoughtfully in the middle distance in a style characteristic of much 19th Century European portraiture. It is not just the young man who is unidentified; the artist is also unknown, although the painting is in the style of 19the Century German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and believed to have been painted by one of his circle. Winterhalter, who lived between 1805 and 1873, is known for his use of light to bring the subjects of his portraits to life, as is the case with the boy's face in this painting. He is best known for his portraits of European monarchy, most famously for undertaking a series of paintings of the tragic Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, up to her death in 1898.