After Benjamin-Constant, Queen Victoria Enthroned in the House of Lords

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (1845-1902) was a French painter of Orientalist scenes and portraits who trained under Alexandre Cabanel and taught at the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1899 the proprietor of the Illustrated London News commissioned him to paint Queen Victoria. The canvas, more than three metres high, was bought by Edward VII and hangs in the State Dining Room at Windsor Castle.

The Queen sits in profile on the Sovereign’s Throne in the House of Lords, designed by Augustus Pugin. Light falls on her lace veil and the patterned fabric of her gown. Her hands rest in her lap, and a tasselled footstool stands at her feet. Behind her, the Gothic panelling carries the royal arms and the motto “Dieu et mon droit”.

A monochrome photomechanical print, probably a photogravure, of the early twentieth century. The painting was reproduced by the Illustrated London News in 1901 and as a plate in Lionel Cust’s Pictures in the Royal Collection. No signature or publisher’s line shows within the mount. In a cream double mount and a wooden frame with a black and gilt inner slip.