2961

UNFINISHED

Queen Marie, the Queen Mother of Romania, née Princess Marie of Edinburgh 1936

Standing three-quarter length slightly to the left, three-quarter face looking to the right, wearing court dress with the sash and Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I,^[1] a cloak over her shoulders, a diamond tiara, drop pearl earrings, a string of large pearls and a long necklace with a drop pendant
Oil on canvas, 150.5 x 93 cm (59 ¼ x 36 ½ in.)

Sitters’ Book II, f. 85: Marie / Marie, / Cotroceni / Feb. 1936

Studio Inventory, p. 86 (468): Her Majesty Marie of Roumania. Painted in Bucharest.  Re-stretched 1938.

Private Collection

De László first met the then Crown Princess Marie in Vienna in 1899. It was not, however, until she visited London in 1924 that he actually painted her [3200], at that time writing in his diary: “[The Queen] is uncommonly intelligent, and she knows what she wants; she also knows how to make use of her great charm and lilac eyes. At first I felt rather uncomfortable in her presence, as I despise her cowardly Roumanian people, who owe their present position to the Treaty of Trianon (1920), which dealt most unjustly with Hungary. But I will not go into politics. The Queen knows her duty – and I am an artist of the world, and paint history, not only individuals…[She] is very ambitious and would like to be a kind of Byzantine queen, but I fear the Roumanian kingdom has been built upon marshy ground.”^[2] That portrait [3200] remains in the collection of the National Museum of Peles Castle in Sinaia, Roumania, and was on loan to the Cotroceni Museum (formerly Palace) in Bucharest 1989-2000.

Only in January 1936 could de László finally persuade himself “to put his political prejudice aside”^[3] when King Carol II commissioned portraits of himself [4220] and his mother [3211] for the National Bank of Romania. De László also painted the King’s mistress, Elena Lupescu [4709]. Queen Marie sat to him first, which resulted in a formal portrait showing her seated full length in a dark gown [3211], which is in the collection of the National Museum of Art in Bucharest, together with a posthumous portrait of her husband King Ferdinand I, who died in 1927 [4217].

The early part of February was devoted to the present portrait. The Queen wrote in her diary that de László had arrived at Cotroceni eager to paint “a really royal picture.”  She continued: “Sitting for him is very entertaining…but yesterday’s sitting was exhausting as he insists upon gorgeous and official attire, a thing I have quite given up – so that I had to dig up the old gorgeousness of my royal days and this attire is exceedingly heavy and exhausting to wear.”^[4] 

In her diary entry for 1 February 1936 the Queen wrote: “Day entirely given up to László.  It is a joy to see him paint. It is pure magic; the sweetness of his hand, eye, brush is astounding. He arranges a looking glass in such a way that one can see the picture he is making and thus one remains interested all the time. In the morning he made a rough sketch of my head with incredible rapidity and sureness – a marvellous touch and such perfect colouring and feeling for line, knowledge of bone construction bringing out the best in a face.  The colour scheme we have decided upon is perfect all in being uncommon. […] László is delighted; he says he never painted a portrait with these colours.  I again had lunch brought into the studio … short cozy [sic] little meal and we began the big portrait which appeared like magic on the big canvas. It is exceedingly tiring for me as I stand with all these heavy drappings [sic] as well as my diadem. But at last it’s worthwhile. At 6 I was however dead-tired and delighted to shed my queenly attire.”^[5] 

In describing his visit in a letter to his son, Paul, dated 11 February 1936, the artist wrote, “My reception here was regal – the Queen is a splendid sitter – a inspiring personallity – One has to be happy in her company – I did sketches [3204] [111639] [84] & began the large canvas [2961] – also that of King Ferdinands posthumous portrait [4217] – in which an officer – stands for the uniform.”^[6]

The portrait remained unfinished, and, with its related oil sketch [3204] was in the possession of the artist on his death. While in Bucharest he also painted two half-length portraits of the sitter, one in traditional Hungarian costume [3207], which is in a private collection, and the other in mourning attire, which remains untraced [3208].  

Marie Alexandra Victoria was born on 3 October 1875 at Eastwell Park in Kent, the daughter of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (second son of Queen Victoria) and Grand Duchess Marie (daughter of Tsar Alexander II). She was brought up in England, Malta (where her father commanded the Mediterranean Fleet) and Coburg. She was romantically involved with her first cousin George (later King George V of Great Britain) but their marriage was opposed by both their mothers. Instead, in 1893, aged only seventeen, she married Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Crown Prince of Romania, who inherited the throne from his uncle Carol I in 1914. Marie had six children: three sons (one of whom died in infancy) and three daughters: Carol, later King Carol II (born 1893), Elisabeta, who married George II of Greece (born 1894), Mignon (Marie), who married Alexander II of Yugoslavia (born in 1900), Nicolas, later Prince Regent of Romania (born 1903), Ileana, later Archduchess of Habsburg-Tuscany (born 1909) and Mircea (born 1913, died aged three). They lived at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest and, in the summer months, at the Peles Palace in Sinaia. At the Romanian Court she led an isolated life and had a difficult relationship with the austere King Carol I and his eccentric wife, Queen Elizabeth, also known as the authoress ‘Carmen Sylva.’  

Queen Marie was interested in the Romanian people and their language and traditions. She wrote a sentimental travelogue of Romania called The Country that I Love and often dressed in her own version of Romanian folk costume, which de László painted her in 1936 [3207]. She also developed a passion for interior decoration which she indulged in her palaces at Peles and Cotroceni and in her country retreats. In 1899 she commissioned the Czech architect Karel Liman to build the Pelisor Palace in the grounds of the Peles Palace. Her striking decorative tastes there spanned a mixture of Byzantine, Renaissance, Romanian folk art and Art Nouveau.

In 1914 she became Queen when Ferdinand ascended the throne. During the First World War she worked in hospitals, and wore a Red Cross uniform. In March 1919 she appeared at the Versailles Peace Conference as a semi-official emissary of Romania. Her beauty and her fashionable wardrobe made a great impact. She charmed Lloyd George and Clemenceau and helped Romania to gain large territorial acquisitions, called the Great Union by the people of Romania. The renunciation of her son, Crown Prince Carol, of his right to the Romanian throne in 1925 caused her great distress and led her to develop an interest in the Bahaï faith. She also had contacts with the American evangelist Frank Buchman and his Oxford group. In 1926 she paid a visit to the United States and was constantly in the headlines on account of her stylish wardrobe. New York gave her a ticker-tape welcome. After King Ferdinand’s death in 1927, she travelled extensively, relieved to be away from the repressive atmosphere of her son’s régime. She had a passion for writing, and published fifteen volumes of travelogues, children’s fairy tales, romantic stories and memoires. Her autobiography was published in England by Cassell in two volumes in 1934 and 1935.

Marie was a vain, theatrical and sentimental woman, with a naive simplicity, who could inspire passionate devotion in others. The Canadian adventurer Colonel Joseph Boyle, who met her in 1918, remained in love with her to the end of his life.

She died 13 July 1938 at Pelisor Palace, her summer residence in Sinaia. She had been a virtual prisoner there for eight years, her son Carol preferring to keep her and her lover Stirbey away from the political arena. According to her last wishes her heart was placed in a silver casket and buried at an Orthodox church near the Balcic Palace on the Black Sea. Later, when Romania ceded the territory of Dobruja (in 1940) to Bulgaria, Queen Marie’s daughter, Princess Ileana, moved the casket to Bran Castle where it remained until it was rediscovered and sent to the National Museum of Romania in 1970.

PROVENANCE:          

In the possession of the artist on his death

EXHIBITED:        

•Christie’s, King Street, London, A Brush with Grandeur. 6-22 January 2004, no. 128

•BADA Art & Antiques Fair, London, Philip de László: 150th Anniversary Exhibition, 2019, no. 12

LITERATURE:          

•Roumania, Queen Marie of, Diaries, vol. III / 195 (film reel 489), pp. 77, 80-81, National Archives, Bucharest

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, pp. 175, 352-3, 376

•Elsberry, Terence, Marie of Romania, The Intimate Life of aTwentieth Century Queen, Cassel, London, 1973, pp. 263, 265

•Fotescu, Diana, ed., Americans and Queen Marie of Romania, A  selection of Documents, The Center for Romanian Studies, Oxford, 1998, p. 119

•De Laszlo, Sandra, ed., & Christopher Wentworth-Stanley, asst. ed., A Brush with Grandeur, Paul Holberton publishing, London 2004, pp. 196-7, ill. p. 197

•Badea-Păun, Gabriel, « Les portraits de la famille royale roumaine par Philip de László », in Revue Roumaine d’histoire de l’art , vol. XXXIX-XL, 2002-2003, p. 115, ill. p. 104
•Badea-Păun, Gabriel, Mecena şi comanditari. Artă şi mesaj politic, Noi Media Print, Bucarest, 2009, p. 132, ill. p. 117 and front cover

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, pp. 268, 270

•Field, Katherine, Philip Alexius de László; 150th Anniversary Exhibition, de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, p. 49, ill. pp. 11, 14, 16, 48, 52

•Field, Katherine ed., Gábor Bellák and Beáta Somfalvi, Philip de László (1869-1937); "I am an Artist of the World", Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, 2019, pp. 36, 46

•Field, Katherine, with essays by Sandra de Laszlo and Richard Ormond, Philip de László: Master of Elegance,

Blackmore, 2024, pp. 39, 146, p. 22, ill.

•DLA135-0067, letter from de László to Marczell ‘Marczi’ László, 12 February 1936

CWS 2008