Franz Xaver Winterhalter's 1859 state portrait of Queen Victoria, painted as one of a formal pair with a matching state portrait of Prince Albert, commissioned for display in the royal residences rather than as a private family image. Winterhalter, the leading European court portraitist of his generation, first visited England in 1842 and returned repeatedly over the following decades to paint Victoria, Albert and their growing family, producing more than 120 works for the couple in all. The 1859 state portraits present Victoria and Albert in the formal dress and regalia of reigning monarchs rather than as sitters in an informal domestic scene. The painting remains in the Royal Collection and is displayed at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences alongside the bulk of Winterhalter's royal output.
Facts
Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectSourced to the subject's own accountVictoria is shown in her robes of state wearing the George IV State Diadem and a suite of necklace and earrings made by Garrard in 1858, her hand resting on papers beside the Imperial State Crown. The portrait was commissioned in 1858, and on seeing it finished in 1859 Victoria herself pronounced it "truly magnificent." 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Depicts
The portrait's sole subject, one of Winterhalter's formal 1859 state images of the Queen.
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