TABLEAU VIVANT PHOTO [EDWARD VII (1841-1910, King of Great Britain)]

Excellent unsigned Cabinet photo by Arthur J. Melhuish, showing the Prince of Wales full length in fancy dress costume for a tableau vivant, he is wearing Scottish millitary kit with kilt and sporran and a breastplate, 6½" x 4¼", London, no date, circa

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.

Item Date:  1875

Stock No:  34095      £275

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