EUGENE-LOUIS LAMI (1800-90)
The supper in the Salle de Spectacle, Versailles, 25 August 1855
1855Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and bodycolour | 37.8 x 51.8 cm (whole object) | RCIN 920097
The emperor and empress organised a packed programme of entertainment for their royal guests, including this supper and ball in the theatre at Versailles. Victoria wrote enthusiastically in her journal that it was ‘quite one of the finest & most brilliant sights we ever witnessed’. This watercolour was originally in a souvenir album which Victoria received with delight from Napoleon III and Eugénie for Christmas that year.