A new exhibition at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) gives a wonderful insight into the splendour of the Victorian court. Forty four watercolours from the Royal Collection depict her remarkable visit to Paris in 1855.
The historic 10-day visit was on the invitation of the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie. The first time a reigning British monarch had visited the French capital in over 400 years, the visit ostensibly celebrated the military alliance between France and Britain against Russia in the Crimean War. It also cemented a great personal friendship that had developed between the two rulers, just 40 years after the Battle of Waterloo. Never before displayed in their entirety, the watercolours capture the magnificence of the occasion, showing dramatic illuminations, spectacular balls and exquisite Second Empire interiors.
Queen Victoria in Paris: Watercolours from the Royal Collection runs from Saturday 17 December to Sunday 23 April 2017. All the works were commissioned by or for Queen Victoria and are generously loaned from the Royal Collection by Her Majesty the Queen.
An exhibition catalogue Queen Victoria in Paris: Watercolours from the Royal Collection is available for £12.50 from the Shop at RAMM, along with Queen Victoria inspired gifts.
Associated events are designed to increase insight and appreciation of the exhibition:
• Dementia-friendly art-making on Thursday 9 February (£15).
• Queen Victoria, Napoleon III and the events of 1855, a talk by Rosie Razzall, Curator of Prints and Drawings at Royal Collection Trust, on Wednesday 15 February (£12).
• Children’s animation workshop on Friday 17 February (£5).
Image: Royal visit to Napoleon III: the entry of Queen Victoria into Paris 18th August 1855, Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot (b1810) ROYAL COLLECTION © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016.
