Artwork
The Duke of Chartres and his Family at the Palais Royal
The Duke of Chartres and his Family at the Palais Royal is an oil painting by the French Romanticist artist Édouard Cibot. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The inclusion of domestic elements like the pet and flowers alongside the Duke emphasizes the private, familial nature of the scene within the royal context.
The painting depicts Louis-Philippe-Joseph, Duke of Orléans, seated with his family within the Palais Royal setting. The composition includes specific figures identified as a woman, a child, and an infant, alongside a dog and floral elements. As a copy commissioned in 1836 by King Louis-Philippe for the Museum of the History of France at Versailles, the work serves a historical documentary function rather than purely allegorical symbolism.
It reproduces an earlier original by Charles Lepeintre, preserving the visual record of the Orléans family at their residence. The inclusion of domestic elements like the pet and flowers alongside the Duke emphasizes the private, familial nature of the scene within the royal context.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1837, this work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 64 by 54 centimeters. Created by Édouard Cibot, the piece functions as a copy of an original composition by Charles Lepeintre that was formerly located at the Palais Royal. The commission, ordered by Louis-Philippe for the historical museum at Versailles in 1836, depicts a domestic group scene featuring figures seated alongside a dog and floral elements.
As a reproductive work, it translates the earlier composition into the medium of oil on canvas while maintaining the formal arrangement of the Duke of Orléans and his family within an interior setting.
History & Provenance
The work was commissioned by Louis-Philippe for the Musée historique de Versailles in 1836 and completed in 1837. Édouard Cibot produced a copy after a lost original by Charles Lepeintre, which had previously been displayed at the Palais Royal. The painting entered the collection of the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles and remains there today.
The Duke of Chartres and his Family at the Palais Royal is held in the Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon (the Museum of the History of France) in Versailles. The work is registered under the inventory numbers MV 3910, INV 6201 and LP 2525. Commissioned by Louis‑Philippe for the musée historique de Versailles in 1836, it entered the collection that year and has remained part of the museum’s permanent holdings, where it is displayed to the public.
Context
The painting was commissioned by Louis-Philippe I for the Musée historique de Versailles in 1836, reflecting the monarch's effort to shape a narrative of French history through art. Cibot's work, an oil on canvas copy after Charles Lepeintre, was exhibited at the 1837 Salon and received attention for its precise rendering of aristocratic domestic scenes. Art historians note its role within Cibot's broader output of historical reproductions, positioning it at the intersection of 19th-century academic painting and evolving state-sponsored commemoration practices.
The composition, depicting Louis-Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, with his family, was later housed in the Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, where it remains part of the collection today.
Overview
Painted in 1837 by Édouard Cibot, The Duke of Chartres and his Family at the Palais Royal is an oil painting exemplifying French Romanticism. It depicts a domestic scene of the Duke of Orléans, Louis Philippe II, with his family.
Legacy
While specific influences of the painting on later works are not widely documented, it contributes to the broader legacy of French Romantic painting and the historical record of the Orleans family’s life during the 19th century.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
François Barthélemy Michel Édouard Cibot (1799–1877) was a French historical and landscape painter born in Paris.
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