''The Arrival of Queen Victoria at the Château d'Eu'' (French: ''Arrivée de la reine Victoria au château d'Eu'') is an oil on canvas

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

by the French

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Eugène Lami Eugène Louis Lami (12 January 1800 – 19 December 1890) was a French painter and lithographer. He was a painter of fashionable Paris during the period of the July Monarchy and the Second French Empire and also made history paintings and illustr ...

, from 1843.

History and description

It depicts the arrival of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

at the

Château d'Eu The Château d'Eu () is a former royal residence in the town of Eu, in the Seine-Maritime department of France, in Normandy. The Château d'Eu stands at the centre of the town and was built in the 16th century to replace an earlier one purpose ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

to meet with

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

on 2 September 1843. Accompanied by a mounted escort, the queen is visible in the carriage with other members of the royal party. Victoria attended the Château with her husband

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

and the Foreign Secretary

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in fo ...

, as part of the growing friendship between the countries. It was the first foreign visit for the young Victoria and marked the first time an English monarch had visited since

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English Pale of Calais, it was a ...

in 1520. It was one of four paintings depicting various scenes of the visit, commissioned to commemorate the event by Louis Phillipe. Today the painting is in the collection of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. A

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

of the scene by Lami is now in the British

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

, having been presented to Victoria by Louis Phillipe in 1844 when he made a reciprocal visit to

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

References

Bibliography

* Lemoisne, Paul-André. ''Eugène Lami: 1800-1890''. H. Champion, 1914, 1914 * Price, Munro. ''The Perilous Crown: France Between Revolutions, 1814-1848''. Pan Macmillan, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrival of Queen Victoria at the Château d'Eu, The 1843 paintings Paintings in the Palace of Versailles Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom Cultural depictions of Louis Philippe I Paintings of Queen Victoria Oil on canvas paintings History paintings Paintings by Eugène Lami Cultural depictions of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

History and description

See also

References

Bibliography