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Lot Essay
The present drawing shows Princess Clémentine, the wife of Augustus Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, with her two sons, Philip to her left, and Augustus in her arms and is a preparatory study for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with the family of King Louis-Philippe at the Château D'Eu in the Royal Collection. In the final composition the figures of Princess Clémentine and her children are seated to the near right, next to Queen of France. The painting was made for King Louis Philippe in 1845 to celebrate the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in September of that year.
The Queen of the Belgians first wrote to Queen Victoria of Winterhalter's painting on 30 September 1845 and in a subsequent correspondence dated 19 October she writes that she is uncertain if the picture had been begun, but that she had been told the 'various Sketches' (of which the present drawing is one) were delightful. Delia Miller refers to a missing sketch by Winterhalter, thought to be the present drawing in D. Millar, The Victorian Pictures in the Royal Collection, London, 1992, pp. 310-311.
The oil painting passed from the French Royal family into private hands and was bought at auction by Agnew's, London for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1947. Having resided at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace, the painting was finally moved to Clarence House in 1972 where it remains today and is on view in the Lancaster Room during the annual summer opening.
The Queen of the Belgians first wrote to Queen Victoria of Winterhalter's painting on 30 September 1845 and in a subsequent correspondence dated 19 October she writes that she is uncertain if the picture had been begun, but that she had been told the 'various Sketches' (of which the present drawing is one) were delightful. Delia Miller refers to a missing sketch by Winterhalter, thought to be the present drawing in D. Millar, The Victorian Pictures in the Royal Collection, London, 1992, pp. 310-311.
The oil painting passed from the French Royal family into private hands and was bought at auction by Agnew's, London for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1947. Having resided at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace, the painting was finally moved to Clarence House in 1972 where it remains today and is on view in the Lancaster Room during the annual summer opening.