Portrait, Marie Amelie (Ex-Queen of the French) by Henri Grévedon

Henri Grévedon

c. 1800s

Engraving

This nineteenth-century stipple and line engraving depicts a half-length portrait of a noblewoman rendered in the highly detailed, elegant style associated with the Bourbon Restoration period. The engraving was executed by British printmaker James Thomson after a design by French artist Henri Grévedon. The sitter is shown in elaborate aristocratic dress, wearing a lace bonnet with floral accents and ribbons, tightly styled curls, and a dark gown with voluminous puffed sleeves, a wide waist belt, and a lace cravat. Thomson’s fine use of stippling and cross-hatching models the face with softness while emphasizing the texture and sheen of the textiles.

The design was originally created around 1828 by Henri Grévedon, a French portraitist and lithographer known for idealized depictions of European royalty, and published in London by Fisher, Son & Co. as part of efforts to promote the prestige of the House of Orléans. The subject is Marie Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, who became Queen of the French after the July Revolution of 1830 and was later exiled to England in 1848. The “Ex-Queen” caption on later impressions indicates a post-1848 reissue in which the original plate was updated rather than newly engraved. The print is significant for its detailed record of elite fashion and for its role in circulating royal imagery shaped by shifting political fortunes and public interest in exiled monarchs.

Dimensions: H 10 3/4" x 8 1/8" W

Condition: Overall the engraving is in very good condition. The paper shows some oiling and discoloration as expected with age.