A Jacobite Gazetteer - France

During their exile in France, King James II and VII, Queen Mary Beatrice, and their son, King James III and VIII frequently visited the Palace of Versailles which is less than 10 km south of their own residence at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Today the Palace of Versailles is a museum. Among the collections are a number of Stuart portraits as well as other portraits of Jacobite interest. Most of these are copies, some contemporary, others ordered by Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans, called "King of the French", for the historical museum which he created at Versailles.

Most of the works listed here are in the Musée de l'histoire de France. Only the major rooms of this museum are usually open to the public. Special arrangements must be made in advance to see other rooms which are normally closed.

James, Duke of York

There is a portrait of King James II and VII when Duke of York.¹ Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans, added it to the Versailles collection. James wears armour and rests his right hand on a visor. The portrait may have been painted in 1649 when James was living in Paris and at Saint-Germain with his mother Queen Henrietta Maria.

King James II and VII

Queen Mary Beatrice

There are matching portraits of James II and VII and his wife Queen Mary Beatrice.² Both paintings were formerly oval, but were modified when they were added to the Versailles collection by Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans. There are similar portraits of King Charles II and his wife Queen Catherine.³

King James III, by Alexis-Simon Belle

There is a 1712 portrait of King James III and VIII by Alexis-Simon Belle.⁴ A very slightly larger version of the portrait is owned by the "United Kingdom Government Art Collection".⁵ James is shown wearing a metal breastplate over a green velvet coat embroidered with gold at the cuffs. He has a red sash around his waist and the blue sash of the Order of the Garter over the breastplate. His left arm rests on a metal visor.

Queen Maria Clementina

There is a portrait of Queen Clementina.⁶ It is an old copy of the 1727 portrait by Antonio David another copy of which is in the Convente di San Clemente in Rome. Maria Clementina wears a sheer veil and a stole of ermine. At her left is a royal crown. In her hand she holds a book (presumably a prayer-book). The portrait was added to the Versailles collection by Louis Philippe, called "King of the French".

There is a portrait of a young Henry, Duke of York (later King Henry IX).⁷ The portrait is sometimes described as being Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III) - but it is more likely to be his younger brother. The portrait is a copy of a 1740 work by Domenico Dupra.⁸ Henry is shown bewigged and in armour with a large red sash around his waist. He wears the blue sash of the Order of the Garter and the green neck badge of the Order of the Thistle. In one hand he holds a baton while the other hand rests on a helmet. Corp lists two other versions of the portrait, both in private collections.⁹

Henry, Duke of York

There is a portrait of Charles III, this one in middle-age, with a matching portrait of his wife Queen Louise.¹⁰ The two portraits are copies painted in 1845 by Louis-Édouard Rioult. They were commissioned by Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans. Charles is shown in armour with a crown at his side; he points with his right hand to a battle scene in the background. Louise is shown with a rose hanging from her left hand; in the background is the city of London. Both portraits are copies of works by Laurent Pecheux now at Stanford Hall.¹¹ In 1770 Pecheux was working in Rome and was commissioned to paint Charles; the portrait of Louise was completed in 1775.¹²

King Charles III, by Louis-Édouard Rioult

Queen Louise, by Louis-Édouard Rioult

Henry, Cardinal Duke of York

There is a portrait of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York (later King Henry IX) attributed to Domenico Corvi.¹³ Henry is shown standing at a desk and dressed as a cardinal in a red mozetta (but without a pectoral cross); in his left hand he holds a book, while his right hand rests upon another book on the desk. This work bears some similarity to two other portraits of Henry by Corvi, one at Holyroodhouse Palace and the other at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.¹⁴

There are several portraits of Queen Clotilde, wife of King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (later King Charles IV). She was the sister of King Louis XVI of France, and his brothers Louis XVIII and Charles X, and was known as "Madame Clotilde" until her marriage. There is a copy of a portrait by François-Hubert Drouais showing the infant Clotilde seated on a goat with her brother the comte d'Artois standing behind.¹⁵ This copy was painted for Clotilde's aunt Madame Adelaide. The original is in the Louvre. There are two copies of a lost portrait of Clotilde painted by Drouais in 1773 when Clotilde was fourteen.¹⁶ There is a copy of a portrait of Clotilde by Drouais as an adult.¹⁷ There is another portrait by Drouais showing Clotilde playing the guitar.¹⁸

Madame Clotilde, with the comte d'Artois

Madame Clotilde, after Drouais

There are several other portraits of lesser interest to Jacobites: Henry, Lord Darnley, husband of Queen Mary II and I; the sisters of King Charles IV and King Victor - Marie-Josephine-Louise, comtesse de Provence, later Queen of France, and Marie-Therese, comtesse d'Artois, also later Queen of France.