Thursday, August 25, 2011

Portraits of Marie-Amélie

At Lady Reading, there is a discussion, in Italian, of Marie-Amélie of Naples, Queen of the French, with rare miniatures, sculptures, drawings and paintings of her and her family on joyful and sorrowful occasions. Here are a few examples. Above is an image of a younger Marie-Amélie as Duchesse d'Orléans, with her husband, Louis-Philippe, and her two eldest children, Prince Ferdinand-Philippe, Duc de Chartres, and Princess Louise, the future first Queen of the Belgians.
A domestic scene of Marie-Amélie with her fine, growing family. As the image suggests, Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie took an attentive and affectionate interest in their children's education.
A delicate miniature of Marie-Amélie, apparently part of a family tree.
The lady at her desk. She worked hard at fulfilling the social and charitable obligations of her high station; she was also a great writer, leaving behind many letters and diaries shedding invaluable light on the personal, political and religious turmoil of her time.

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