LANDSEER, Sir Edwin Henry
(b. 1802, London, d. 1873, London)
LANDSEER, Sir Edwin Henry (b. 1802, London, d. 1873, London) |
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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Bal Costumé of 12 May 18421842Oil on canvas, 143 x 112 cm Royal Collection, Windsor | ||
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Three fancy-dress balls were held at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, each in a different style. At the first on 12 May 1842 the principal figures appeared as Edward III (1312-77) and Queen Philippa (1314?-69). The second, on 6 June 1845, was in early Georgian dress and the third, on 13 June 1851, in the style of the Restoration. Landseer has painted Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the Throne Room on the occasion of the fancy-dress ball of 1842, standing beneath a specially designed Gothic canopy decorated with purple velvet hangings. Two chairs of state are visible behind the figures and above their heads on the cloth of honour is emblazoned the coat-of-arms of Edward III, combining French and English quarterings. It was from this alcove that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert greeted over 2,000 guests. Members of the Royal Household were expected to appear in costumes dating in style from the reign of Edward III, while the guests were encouraged to wear costumes of any period or country. The setting for the ball and the design of the costumes were entrusted to James Robinson Planche, who was an authority on the history of dress, as evidenced by his encyclopaedic book History of British Costume (1834), as well as a dramatist and a herald in the College of Arms. The costumes worn by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were designed by Vouillon and Laure with the guidance of Planche. For the sake of accuracy reference was made to the relevant monuments in Westminster Abbey. The queen's costume was based upon the effigies of Philippa of Hainault and her daughter Blanche de la Tour (died in infancy 1342), while that for Prince Albert was derived from the effigy of Edward III. Landseer began his painting at the time of the ball, but, as was so often the case with this artist, progress was delayed and the picture was not finished until 1846.
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