An important royal albumen Carte-de-Visite (CDV) portrait of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), photographed from life by the distinguished British photographer Charles Clifford (1819–1863) on 14 November 1861. The Queen is shown in a formal full-length regal portrait, wearing an elaborate dark evening dress, jewellery and diadem, deliberately presented in her sovereign capacity. The front is captioned: “HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN” and: “Copyright secured – Cundall, Downes & Co., 168 New Bond Street.” The reverse bears the elaborate royal backmark of Cundall, Downes & Co. – Photographers to the Queen, together with the important printed identification: “THE REGAL PORTRAIT OF HER MAJESTY, Photographed from life BY C. CLIFFORD, of Madrid. NOVEMBER, 14, 1861.” According to the accompanying historical description, the portrait was taken at Windsor Castle following a request from Queen Isabella II of Spain, who wished to obtain a formal portrait of Queen Victoria and entrusted the commission to her court photographer, Charles Clifford. Unlike a number of earlier photographic portraits in which Victoria was presented in a more intimate domestic role alongside Prince Albert and their children, this image was specifically conceived to portray her as a reigning sovereign, formally dressed and wearing her diadem and jewels. The date is particularly poignant. The sitting took place on 14 November 1861, exactly one month before the death of Prince Albert on 14 December 1861. His death marked a profound turning point in Victoria's life and public image, initiating the long period of mourning with which her later iconography became inseparably associated. The photograph therefore represents an important image of Queen Victoria at the very end of her pre-widowhood period, shortly before her public visual identity changed dramatically. An historically and iconographically significant royal photograph combining Queen Victoria, Charles Clifford, Windsor Castle, a commission associated with Queen Isabella II of Spain, and a sitting exactly one month before Prince Albert's death.
Auction 01: Auction 01 – Historical Letters, Documents & Autographs — Melis Antiques & Art