Portrait of Leopold I of Belgium

Portrait of Leopold I of Belgium
Artist	Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Year	1840
Type	Oil on canvas, portrait painting
Dimensions	278 cm × 181 cm (109 in × 71 in)
Location	Palace of Versailles, Versailles

Portrait of Leopold I of Belgium is an 1840 portrait painting by the German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter depicting Leopold I of Belgium. [1] [2]

A German-born prince, Leopold had become the first King of the Belgians following the Belgian Revolution of 1830 that overthrew Dutch rule. He married a French princess Louise of Orléans in 1832. He was also the widower of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who had died in 1817, as well as the uncle of Queen Victoria. [3]

The painting was commissioned by Leopold's father-in-law Louis Philippe I for the Musée de l'Histoire de France at the recently refurbished Palace of Versailles.[4] In 1846 Leopold commissioned another portrait from Winterhalter as a gift for Queen Victoria, which remains in the British Royal Collection.[5]

See also

• Portrait of Prince Leopold, an 1821 painting by Thomas Lawrence

References

1. Holden p.145
2. Lemoine p.201
3. Scheele & Scheele p.21
4. https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/joconde/000PE011612
5. https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/1/collection/407284/leopold-i-king-of-the-belgians-1790-1865

Bibliography

• Belien, Paul. A Throne in Brussels: Britain, the Saxe-Coburgs and the Belgianisation of Europe. Imprint Academic, 2014.
• Eismann, Ingeborg. Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873): der Fürstenmaler Europas. Imhof, 2007.
• Holden, Angus. Uncle Leopold; a Life of the First King of the Belgians. Hutchinson & Co, 1936.
• Lemoine, Pierre. Versailles and Trianon: Guide to the Museum and National Domain of Versailles and Trianon. "Réunion des musées nationaux, 1990.
• Scheele, Godfrey and Scheele, Margaret. The Prince Consort, Man of Many Facets: The World and the Age of Prince Albert. Oresko Books, 1977