The Dining Room, Osborne House, Isle of Wight
ENRICO BELLI (ACTIVE 1861-84)
The Royal Family in 1846 (after Winterhalter) 1861
Oil on canvas | 250.8 x 319.6 cm (support, canvas/panel/str external) | RCIN 408908
This painting is a copy of the royal family portrait painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1846 (RCIN 405413). The Queen is in evening dress and wears the ribbon and star of the Garter. Her head ornament with sapphires was probably designed by Prince Albert. The Prince is in court dress and also wears the ribbon and star of the Garter, and the badge of the Golden Fleece. They are sitting on two chairs from a set made for Windsor Castle in 1828.
Their eldest son, Prince Albert, Prince of Wales, stands close to his mother dressed in a Russian blouse. In front of them, Prince Alfred walks towards his sisters, Victoria, Princess Royal, and Princess Alice, who are watching over the baby, Princess Helena, lying on an ermine-lined mantle. The Queen described the original painting as ‘like a Paul Veronese – such beautiful, brilliant, fresh, colouring – & we were enchanted’.
Provenance
Painted for Queen Victoria in 1861