Portraits
Sir William Ross (1794-1860), Queen Victoria (1819-1901), 1839, RCIN 420260 ©
Queen Victoria was the first Queen Regnant, and Prince Albert the first male consort, since the early 1700s. This presented a challenge to portrait painters, since the conventions that had been appropriate for Victoria’s male predecessors no longer applied.
Winterhalter looked for inspiration to the Dutch and Flemish old masters, especially Van Dyck, but his Royal Family in 1846 was a brilliant and original response to the challenge. The viewer is left in no doubt that the Queen and her eldest son represent the royal line, while Prince Albert rules the family.
Winterhalter’s family picture quickly became famous through public exhibition and engraving. Many of the other portraits shown here were painted for the eyes of the family only. Several record their life away from the official world, in Scotland or the Isle of Wight. The young Queen and her husband appear in a variety of guises–as medieval rulers, in full Highland garb or even as the Holy Family–in a group of royal portraits of unprecedented range.
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Prince Albert (1819-1861)
Henry Pierce Bone (1779-1855)
Bracelet with a miniature of Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Emil Wolff (1802-79)
Prince Albert
Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Prince Albert (1819-61)
Magdalena Dalton (1801-74)
Brooch with a miniature of Prince Albert (1819-1861)
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Benedetto Pistrucci (1784-1855)
Prince Albert
Charles Brocky (1807-55)
Queen Victoria
Charles Brocky (1807-55)
Prince Albert
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Prince Albert (1819-61)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Robert Thorburn (1818-85)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
William Essex (1784-1869)
Bracelet with a miniature of Prince Albert
Emil Wolff (1802-79)
Prince Albert
John Gibson (1790-1866)
Queen Victoria
Sir Edwin Landseer (1803-73)
Victoria, Princess Royal, with Eos
Gugliemo Faija (1803-73)
Victoria, Princess Royal, later Crown Princess and Empress of Germany (1840-1901)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
The Royal Family in 1846
Robert Thorburn (1818-85)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) with Prince Alfred (1844-1900) and Princess Helena (1846-1923)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prince Alfred
Gugliemo Faija (1803-73)
Prince Alfred (1844-1900) and Princess Helena (1846-1923)
Gugliemo Faija (1803-73)
King Edward VII (1841-1910) when Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred (1844-1900)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Queen Victoria with Prince Arthur
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Victoria, Princess Royal (1840-1901) in Turkish costume
Leonard Charles Wyon (1826-91)
Seven portrait medals of Royal children
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Princess Louise (1848-1939)
William Essex (1784-1869)
Princess Alice (1843-1878)
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
The First of May 1851
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
The cousins: Queen Victoria and Victoire, Duchesse de Nemours
Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-67)
Prince Arthur
William Watson (active 1828-66)
Prince Leopold (1853-1884), later Duke of Albany
Annie Dixon (1817-1901)
Princess Beatrice (1857-1944).
Johann Georg Paul Fischer (1786-1875)
Edward, Duke of Kent (1767-1816)
Henry Collen (1798-1879)
Victoria, Duchess of Kent (1786-1861)
Magdalena Dalton (1801-74)
Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1790-1865)
Magdalena Dalton (1801-74)
Louise, Queen of the Belgians (1812-1850).
Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
