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EUGENE-LOUIS LAMI (1800-90)
The Gala Performance at the Paris Opéra
1855Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour | 35.6 x 57.0 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 920071
Napoleon III organised a packed programme of events to entertain his royal guests, including a visit to the opera. Victoria described their reception by the audience there as ʻmost magnificentʼ. This watercolour was commissioned by the French Empress Eugénie to be mounted in an album as a souvenir for Victoria, which she received with delight for Christmas in 1855.
