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EUGENE-LOUIS LAMI (1800-90)
The Gala Performance at the Paris Opéra
1855Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour | 35.6 x 57.0 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 920071
Napoleon III organised a packed programme of events to entertain his royal guests, including a visit to the opera. Victoria described their reception by the audience there as ‘most magnificent’. This watercolour was commissioned by the Empress Eugénie to be mounted in an album as a souvenir for Victoria, which she received with delight for Christmas in 1855.
