Born in 1808: 1830s

Friday, 24 May 2013

Celebrating the anniversary of Queen Victoria's Birthday. Images of Englands virtuous Queen.

Today (May 24th) marks the 194th anniversary of Queen Victoria's Birthday. It always saddens me how often I see Victoria portrayed as the stereotypical post Albert old lady in black, especially during events that are aiming at the era before Albert's death (pre 1861). So to celebrate her birthday here are my favourite images of Queen Victoria during her heyday, from the beginning of her reign at the age of 18 to the death of her beloved Albert in December 1861 when she was 42.

Queen Victoria c.1839

Queen Victoria by John Partridge 1840 the Royal Collection

Queen Victoria, Henry Pierce Bone, 1840. Photo: Royal Collection

Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (1819-1901) by Charles Brocky in 1841.

Queen Victoria, William Essex, 1841. Photo: Royal Collection.

Queen Victoria

by Mrs Edwin Dalton (Magdalena Ross), after Sir William Charles Ross

lithograph, 1843

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) by Robert Thorburn in 1844

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1845.

The Royal Collection

Queen Victoria by unknown artist. 1840s.

Queen Victoria 1845

Queen Victoria 1847 Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Queen Victoria with Prince Arthur 1850 Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Queen Victoria, 1850s.

The Cousins: Queen Victoria and Victoire, Duchesse de Nemours by Franz Xaver Winterhalter 1852

wikipaintings

5th July 1854 Photograph showing a three-quarters length right profile portrait of a seated Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. She rests a photographic portrait of Prince Albert on her lap. In July 1854, Queen Victoria commissioned Duppa to take a photograph of her, as a surprise for her husband. The portrait shows the Queen holding a framed copy of a portrait of Prince Albert taken by the same photographer a few months earlier.

The Royal Collection

Queen Victoria photographed in her wedding gown by Roger Fenton in 1854

Queen Victoria 1855 Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Queen Victoria 1856 by Charles Lucien Louis Muller.

Handtinted image of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria c.1850s

Vicky with Victoria 1857

Queen Victoria c.1850s

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, ca 1860

1860 Queen Victoria by John Jabez Edwin Mayall (The Royal Collection)

Queen Victoria with Princess Beatrice c.1861

Queen Victoria by John Jabez Edwin Mayall 1861

Queen Victoria via Grand Ladies

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Inspirational primary resources - Part 3 Paintings

I love looking at paintings for costume inspiration. They are available for all periods, are often rich in detail and colour and cover a variety of subjects. They are also great snippets of social history; the countess in her finery, a family receiving visitors, a day at the races, each moment a time capsule captured by the artist. Of course we have to be slightly wary of artistic interpretation. Often images of the working classes were romanticised, people may have received the 19th century equivalent of photoshopping, and of course there may be degrees of artistic license in any painting. But even then when these changes are obvious, it can tell us something about the society in which these artists and the subjects lived. I think that's what my favourite thing is about viewing period paintings, peeking through the looking glass into the 19th century; seeing the lady at boudoir in her morning wrapper, a frozen snapshot of the hustle and bustle of the Victorian seaside resort with all it's paraphernalia, little cameos of Victorian life for us to share. Here are some of my favourite paintings from the period 1830 - 1865, with focus on the costume content. The last painting is a particular favourite as it is Ramsgate, the town in which i grew up.