TABLEAU VIVANT PHOTOGRAPH [ARTHUR (Duke of Connaught, 1850-1942, Son of Queen Victoria, Governor General of Canada) with his wife LOUISE MARGARET(Alexandra Victoria, 1860-1917, Daughter of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught) and their daughter MARGARET(1882-1920, Princess of Connaught, 'Daisy', Crown Princess of Sweden)]

Fine unsigned Tableau Vivant Photograph representing 'King Alfred & the Cakes' by Hughes & Mullins showing the family dressed as Anglo Saxons, the Duke is seated on a bench holding his bow, his wife is standing and their daughter is seated on the floor, stamped 'carbon print' on the verso, 10" x 8", no place, (Osborne, Isle of Wight) no date, c.

This picture was made into a painting and still hangs at Windsor.
By this time the marriage of the Duke and Duchess had deteriorated to the extent that they were leading separate lives but they remained married. The Duke was Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916 where he and the Duchess and the Princess Patricia were extremely popular.
The practice of the Household performing tableau vivants over the New Year was revived some time after the death of the Prince Consort. There were normally several scenes, each representing a letter or word, followed by a final scene depicting the entire word. The Tableau often reproduced paintings - a particularly successful one being 'La Rixe' (The Brawl) after the painting by E. Meissonier which had been given to the Prince Consort in 1856. The scene was a quarrel in a tavern which Queen Victoria considered 'a truthful presentation of the picture'. They were not always so well received - a biblical tableau of Naomi and Ruth in 1888 was described by the Queen as 'not quite so successful as it might have been, owing to the ladies getting the giggles and shaking'.
The Tableau Vivant photo is an unusual form of photography, which Queen Victoria had a passion for from the 1850s. This is one of the later ones which are more difficult to find as the majority of them have remained in Royal Collections.
From the collection of Lady Patricia Ramsay, daughter of the Duke of Connaught.

Item Date:  1888

Stock No:  23734      £1000

             Add to Wish List     Order/Enquire