Painting of the Day: Portrait of a Lady called Jeanne de Marigny, 1650-1660

Portrait of a Lady Called Jeanne de Marigny
1650-1660
Either Charles Beaubrun or Henri Beaubrun or both
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This elegant painting of a richly dressed woman is curious in a variety of ways. To begin with, though the painting is said to be of a woman named Jeanne de Marigny, no one is quite sure who she is. No other portraits of the sitter survive, no are any records of her to be found.


Another odd thing about this painting is that it has been attributed to two artists and may be the work of one of them or both of them. Said to be the work of Charles Beaubrun and/or Henri Beaubrun, the canvas shows hallmarks of the hand of both artists. The Beaubrun were cousins—both of whom worked in the courts of Louis XIII and XIV and are virtually indistinguishable in both style and subject matter.

Nevertheless, it’s an exquisite painting and though we don’t really know who she is or who painted her, this canvas is an interesting glimpse into the style and fashion of the Seventeenth Century France.

Painting of the Day: “The Alarm; La Gouvernante Fidèle,” 1723



The Alarm
Jean-Francois de Troy
1723
The Victoria & Albert Museum





One of the most popular painters of Parisian court life, Jean-Francois de Troy was just as celebrated for his skill as he was for his slightly tawdry subject matter. This is an excellent example of some of Troy’s romantically-charged handiwork.


Here, we see a scene of two lovers sharing a clandestine meeting in a garden. Their rendezvous is interrupted by a wild-eyed maid whose come to communicate something to her mistress. Perhaps her husband has returned, perhaps her father, perhaps, even, his wife.

With a typically Eighteenth Century color palette of russets, blues, pinks and greens, the painting is alive with color and motion and feels just as vibrant as they day it was completed in 1723.

Painting of the Day: A Stickpin Portrait of Queen Victoria, 1850

Stickpin with Portrait of Queen Victoria
William Essex after Franz Xaver Winterhalter
English, 1850
Gold, Enamel
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When young Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, she was quickly celebrated for her grace and beauty. Images of the Queen became popular decorations and even found their way into the design of jewels. This gold stickpin (or scarf pin) features a portrait of the Queen based on the 1843 canvas by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.


The portrait, beautifully rendered in enamel, is the work of the miniaturist William Essex—much beloved of the Queen and Prince Albert. Essex has taken great care to painstakingly reproduce one of the Queen’s favorite portraits.

Painting of the Day: The Governess, 1844

The Governess
Richard Redgrave, 1844
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When Richard Redgrave exhibited this painting in 1844, he asked that the following quotation accompany the canvas: “She sees no kind domestic visage here'” Redgrave was sympathetic to the lives of governesses. His own sister was a governess and died young. She often told him of the awkwardness of the position—not quite a servant, not quite a member of the family. The role was lonely and ambiguous, but it was also one of the few acceptable means by which a middle class girl might earn a living.


Redgrave painted this scene of a distracted governess holding a letter which seems to have recalled unhappy emotions. The canvas was well-received, but deemed a trifle depressing. When it was purchased, the buyer asked if it couldn’t be “made cheerier.” And, so, Redgrave added the scene of the children in the background, while refusing to alter the countenance of the poor central figure.

Painting of the Day: Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Service at Westminster Abbey, 1887

Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Service at
Westminster Abbey
William Ewart Lockart,, 1887-1900
The Royal Collection

To commemorate the first fifty years of her illustrious reign, the people of Britain gathered to watch Queen Victoria enter Westminster Abbey on June 21, 1887 as she attended a regal service in her honor.


The event was captured by photographers and painters alike. This scene from within the abbey is the work of William Ewart Lockart (1846-1900) at the request of the Queen. The painting took three years to complete, delivered to Victoria in 1890.