| Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Paul Delaroche |
| Year | 1834 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 44 cm× 29 cm(17 in× 11 in) |
| Location | Private collection |
Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary is an oil painting by Paul Delaroche which was investigated in 2016 by the BBC TV programme Fake or Fortune?
A painting of Saint Amelia by French history painter Paul Delaroche was commissioned in 1831 by Queen Marie-Amélie, wife of Louis Philippe, King of the French. [1] The work was exhibited at the Salon of 1834 in Paris. In 1837, the painting was recorded as being hung in the Royal Chapel at the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and it was copied in an engraving by Paolo Mercuri. [2] It was also reproduced as the main panel in a stained glass window for the Queen's private chapel at the Château d'Eu. A preparatory drawing in chalk, graphite and watercolour is held by the British Museum. [3] The original painting was believed to be lost. [4]
The Fake or Fortune? team investigated a version of the painting, housed at Castle of Park in Cornhill, Aberdeenshire, to determine whether it was the Delaroche original or one of a number of copies. This unsigned work was bought in 1989, for about £500, by the late Neil Wilson, an art dealer who had worked for Christie's after leaving university. The painting's provenance was very poor. In the programme, art expert Bendor Grosvenor revealed an 1866 watercolour [5] by Joseph Nash depicting the painting in the Queen's bedroom at Claremont House in Surrey, where the deposed King and Queen lived after fleeing France following the Revolution of 1848. Following Maria Amalia's death in 1866, records in the Bibliothèque nationale de France proved that the painting passed to her fourth child, Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours, who owned Bushy House in London until his death in 1896, but no records were found that proved where the painting passed after 1896. [6] The next sighting of the painting was when it was sold at Christie's in 1980 as a work by the French artist Fleury François Richard, with the title 'A Queen and her Retinue at Worship'. [7]
Technical analysis showed that colour anomalies in the painting were the result of pigment degradation, and that parts of the painting had also been restored. After reviewing the show's findings, Professor Stephen Bann, a leading Delaroche expert, concluded that it was the lost original. He also revealed a letter written by Delaroche, in which he registers his dismay at the state of the picture after it had been copied to create a stained glass window for Queen Marie-Amélie, and says that he will have to do considerable work to restore it. [8]
Following its authentication, Wilson's widow, Becky, was reported to have decided to keep the painting, but allow it to be displayed at the British Museum in London when a Delaroche exhibition takes place. [9] Subsequently, the painting was sold via Christie's in July 2019 for £33,750. [6]
Maria Amalia and her paternal grandmother Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen Consort of Spain, celebrated their feast day on July 13. [10] Also Maria Amalia is depicted as this saint in the stained-glass of the Église Notre-Dame-de-Compassion de Paris, with the drawing originally made by Ingres. He tried to find out who she was, but with no luck. [11]
There is no Amelia in the list of Hungarian Queens. The only Hungarian royal "saint" with the title of Queen is Gisela of Bavaria, wife of Saint Stephen I of Hungary himself, but her canonization in the 18th century failed. She was beatified only in 1975.
However there is a Hungarian royal saint named Elizabeth of Hungary, Landgravine Consort of Thuringia (1207 - 1231), who is associated with an event known as the Miracle of the Roses, which is also told of her great-niece and fellow saint Elizabeth of Aragon, Queen Consort of Portugal. This may connect with the floral imagery of the painting.
There are three Saint named Amelia or a variant thereof. Two noblewomen with the same name were also relatives of the later Carolingian dynasty: Amalberga of Maubeuge and Amalberga of Temse, and they are both official saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. There is also a non-noble Amelberga of Susteren.
There is also Amalaberga, niece of Theodoric the Great, who married Hermanafrid, King of Thuringia, whoever this Thuringian connection with Elizabeth of Hungary is questionable at best.
Queen Mary, Queen Marie, or Queen Maria may refer to:
Maria Amalia Teresa of Naples and Sicily was Queen of the French by marriage to Louis Philippe I, King of the French. She was the last queen of France.
Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English and French history. The emotions emphasised in Delaroche's paintings appeal to Romanticism while the detail of his work along with the deglorified portrayal of historic figures follow the trends of Academicism and Neoclassicism. Delaroche aimed to depict his subjects and history with pragmatic realism. He did not consider popular ideals and norms in his creations, but rather painted all his subjects in the same light whether they were historical figures like Marie-Antoinette, figures of Christianity, or people of his time like Napoleon Bonaparte. Delaroche was a leading pupil of Antoine-Jean Gros and later mentored a number of notable artists such as Thomas Couture, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Jean-François Millet.
Amelia is a female given name. It is an English-language variant of Amalia, derived from the Hebrew word amal meaning 'work', and connoting industriousness and fertility. Diminutive forms include Amy, Emma, Milly and Mel. The name also exists in Spanish and other languages, such as Romanian.
A catalogue raisonné is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified by third parties, and such listings play an important role in authentification.
There were three Imperial Orders of the Mexican Empire, which were Orders of chivalry created to reward Heads of state and prominent people during the two periods of the Mexican Empire—the Imperial Order of Guadalupe, the Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle, and the Imperial Order of Saint Charles.
Amélie of Leuchtenberg was Empress of Brazil as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil.
Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma was duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla by marriage to Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma. She was born an archduchess of Austria as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I.
Suo jure is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especially in England, a man rarely derives any style or title from his wife although this is seen in other countries when a woman is the last heir of her line. It can be used for a male when such male was initially a 'co-lord' with his father or other family member and upon the death of such family member became the sole ruler or holder of the title "in his own right" (alone).
Bonaparte Crossing the Alps is a 1848–1850 oil painting by French artist Paul Delaroche. The painting depicts Napoleon Bonaparte leading his army through the Alps on a mule, a journey Napoleon and his army of soldiers made in the spring of 1800 in an attempt to surprise the Austrian army in Italy. Several versions of this painting exist: in the Louvre- Lens and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. Queen Victoria owned a small version of it.
Amalia is a female given name, derived from the Germanic word amal, meaning "work, activity", specifically the woman's name Amalberga. Its popularity is attributed to the Belgian Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge. The origins of the name Amalia have often been associated with those of Emilia and Emily, both of which in fact originate from the Latin nomen Aemilia, or with Amalthea, which originated from the Greek name "tender goddess". In Greece, the name is celebrated on 10 July in honour of Saint Amalia.
Dona Maria Amélia was a princess of the Empire of Brazil and a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Her parents were Emperor Dom Pedro I, the first ruler of Brazil, and Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The only child of her father's second marriage, Maria Amélia was born in France after Pedro I abdicated the Brazilian throne in favor of his son Dom Pedro II. Before Maria Amélia was a month old, Pedro I went to Portugal to restore the crown of the eldest daughter of his first marriage, Dona Maria II. He fought a successful war against his brother Miguel I, who had usurped Maria II's throne.
Dona Maria Amélia was the last Queen consort of Portugal as the wife of Carlos I of Portugal. She was regent of Portugal during the absence of her spouse in 1895.
Prince Alberto of Naples and Sicily was a Prince of Naples and Sicily as the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife, Maria Carolina. He died on board HMS Vanguard, a British Royal Navy vessel.
Princess Amalia or Princess Amalie may refer to:
Fake or Fortune? is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, Fake or Fortune? has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in the UK, the highest for an arts show in that country.
Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria, as St Catherine is a painting by Sir Anthony van Dyck.
Magistrate of Brussels is an unfinished oil painting or oil sketch by Anthony van Dyck, rediscovered in 2013 after being shown on episodes of the BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow.
The sobriquet grandmother of Europe has been given to various women, primarily female sovereigns who are the ascendant of many members of European nobility and royalty, as well as women who made important contributions to Europe.
Simon Rollo Gillespie is a British conservator-restorer of fine art, and an art historian. He is known particularly for his work with Early British and Tudor portraits, although his practice extends across all periods from early paintings to contemporary artworks. Gillespie has been restoring art since 1978, and he appears frequently on the BBC Four series Britain's Lost Masterpieces, having previously appeared on the BBC1 art programme Fake or Fortune.
Media related to Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary at Wikimedia Commons