Exhibitions 2
Victorian Watercolours (The Gallery, Windsor Castle, till 8 April)
Family favourites
Leslie Geddes-Brown
How would the royal family's critics react, I wonder, if one of the princes were to dress up in a leopardskin and thong san- dals, a wreath of grapes and vine leaves on his head and silver goblet in hand? Victo- ria's son, Prince Alfred, posed for his pic- ture as the allegory of autumn dressed like this and was also photographed in the pose with the addition of warm, white combina- tions under the leopardskin. His brother Arthur, at the age of two, was accoutred in a white broderie anglaise party frock with a blue sash and given a large toy rifle for his portrait because it was always intended that he should become a soldier.
These are two of the fascinating exhibits, some never before seen in public, at a show in Windsor Castle abstracted from over 6,000 watercolours and drawings collected by Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort — a show which celebrates the publication of the two-volume catalogue (published by Philip Wilson at £145 for the boxed set). It took the author, Delia Millar, nearly 20 years to complete.
The backbone of the collection is a series of nine volumes of souvenir albums started in 1839, the year Victoria met Albert, and continued busily until his death in 1861. The watercolours are not great art nor by great artists (except Landseer and Winter- halter) but they give an extraordinarily detailed picture of events. Because the royal couple were both keen amateur artists, they knew what they wanted and toured exhibitions to find suitable painters.
These, alongside sketchbooks and pic- tures given by admirers (notably the French royal family) and others bought from exhibitions, give a marvellous view of Victoria's family life. The show at Windsor consists of over 50 paintings, drawings and albums. It starts with a reception for Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie (despite being friends with the overthrown Bourbons, Victoria didn't object to the new ruler) entering the very area of Windsor Castle where the gallery now is. At one side, an obsequious Lord Chamberlain bows low and brandishes a long, white stick. The carpet is red with a Maltese Cross pattern and beefeaters guard the stairs.
Then we see Victoria and Albert in 1841 — Albert sparky and handsome as never before — by the Hungarian, Charles Brocky. Brocky, however, got bored with dull faces and turned to nudes which may have been more fun but was much less lucrative. Nearby are two charming Winter- halters of Princesses Alice and Helena with Prince Alfred and of Princess Louise with a delightfully pretty nurse, Eliza Collins, who later married Prince Albert's valet, Rudolf.
If visiting emperors and nursemaids are to be expected, what about the section on Victoria's animal kingdom? It is indexed by Lady Millar under dogs and cats, Allie to Young Noble, and other animals she was involved with, from albatross to wolf. She and Albert loved their dogs and the show includes Landseer's sketch of the grey- hound, Eos, later wounded on a shoot by the Queen's uncle, and Annie Macdonald `The Queen distributing the first Victoria Crosses in Hyde Park, 1857' by G.H. Thomas with as unruly a set of puppies as you can imagine. They seem mostly cross-bred dachshunds with not a corgi in sight.
Even the duties look more fun than today. There's a watercolour of the Canada section of the Great Exhibition with a light 20-man birch canoe hanging from the ceil- ing and a fire engine with a jet of 180 feet among the sleighs, furs and moose antlers, and another of a trip with Louis Philippe in a four-row, horse-drawn charabanc. She is also pictured presenting the first Victoria Crosses in 1857, in particular to Captain of the Mast George Ingouville. He's a hand- some blond in flowing naval uniform while she wears an outfit specially designed from that of a Field Marshal. It has a plumed hat like a school pudding basin, a scarlet frogged jacket and the sort of long black skirt not often seen on soldiers. She's rid- ing side-saddle and loving every minute.
The show ends with the end of Victoria's real life, grieving over Albert's sarcophagus in the marbled hall she designed for it (space left for her) and, in deep black at Balmoral, waiting for John Brown to fetch the picnic rug. What a shame Albert died so young.
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