7867

POSTHUMOUS

King Albert I of Belgium 1934

Half-length slightly to the right, head turned in three-quarter profile and looking up, wearing a greatcoat over service dress

Oil on canvas, 84 x 67 cm (33 x 26 ⅓ in.)

Inscribed lower right: László   

Royal Collection of Belgium

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was painted three times by de László in 1925 [7870][3336][112461] and after the tragic death of her husband King Albert in 1934 the artist offered to paint a posthumous portrait of her him.^[1] The artist disliked painting from photographs as the resulting likeness was never to his satisfaction but he made exceptions for particularly important patrons and close friends. He was not satisfied with the first version painted in London [111346] and travelled to the royal palace at Laeken in May 1934 to paint the present picture and a study portrait [7864] with the assistance of Queen Elisabeth. This is the most successful likeness of the deceased king and is the only one signed by the artist. All three portraits remain in the Belgian Royal Collection.  

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [7864].

PROVENANCE:

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, widow of the sitter;

By descent

LITERATURE:

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, pp. 202, 252

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, pp. 374-5

KF 2020