An intimate portrait of Queen Victoria: what an immodest painting from the mid-19th century looked like (7 photos)

The Victorian era saw a flourishing of the arts and gave us many wonderful works of painting, sculpture, literature, and music. Queen Victoria's portrait, commissioned for her husband, became one of the masterpieces of the era, yet was carefully hidden from the public. What was so special about this painting that the royal family considered intimate for 150 years?





In the history of the British Empire, the Victorian era is considered a wonderful and contradictory period. It was a time of strict Puritan morals and the incredible debauchery that lay hidden behind them. This was a period when a bare shoulder in a portrait was considered erotic, but parents could easily sell their child to a brothel.



This period is named after Queen Victoria, who ruled the country for 63 years. This woman was the progenitor of many European royal dynasties and a talented politician. The queen was also distinguished by the fact that she married for love, something unthinkable at the time.





The Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

The determined Victoria proposed to her future husband, Albert, who, incidentally, was her cousin. This occurred in 1839, when she had already been on the throne for two years. The marriage lasted 20 years and produced nine children. Royal life was hampered by numerous protocols, but it also found room for charming indecencies.



Portrait of the Royal Family

An Immodest Portrait of the Queen

One of the royal pranks was a portrait of Victoria, considered intimate. The Queen commissioned it especially for her husband for his 24th birthday. For the mid-19th century, it was an incredibly revealing image, and few were allowed to see it. The painting was first shown to the general public 150 years later, and many were left perplexed.



Photograph of Victoria and Albert

Queen Victoria commissioned the brilliant German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Considered the finest portraitist of the time, Winterhalter painted portraits of many European monarchs. The painting adorned Albert's private study at Windsor Castle. This way, the king could always see his beloved wife, from whom he was often separated by state affairs.



That very intimate portrait of the queen

What was in that intimate portrait of the world's most powerful queen? From a modern perspective, nothing special. The young woman was depicted from the waist up, in a relaxed pose, reclining on scarlet pillows. Her shoulders were bare, and her hair was loose—precisely because of this, the painting was not intended for everyone.



Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861. Victoria never recovered from the loss of her beloved and mourned him for the rest of her life. She rarely appeared in London, settling at Windsor Castle, where she spent the happiest years of her life. The Queen was even nicknamed the "Windsor Widow." Victoria was rumored to have had numerous affairs, including with servants, but all remained rumors.