François MEURET (Nantes, 1800 - Beaumont-le-Roger, 1887) Portrait of the Duchess of Orléans, née Princess Hélène de Mecklembourg-Schwerin (1814-1858) in a white silk dress with blue ribbons in her hair against a background of red drapery Oval watercolour and gum arabic on ivory Signed and annotated 'Meuret d'après F. Winterhalter' along the right edge CIC n° 2024/BE01781/CE Chased and gilt bronze easel frame with "H" letter spandrels, surmounted by a royal crown. The easel engraved 'Mon Alph. Giroux / à Paris'. Portrait of the Duchesse d'Orléans, née Princess Hélène de Mecklembourg-Schwerin (1814-1858) in a white silk dress with blue ribbons in her hair, watercolour and gum arabic on ivory, signed, by F. Meuret 3.66 x 2.83 in. 9.3 x 7.2 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Thierry de Maigret, 25 November 2011, no. 202 (as portrait of the Duchess Ney-d'Elchingen, sold for €22,000) ; Pierre Jourdan-Barry Collection (1926-2016); Then by descent; Private collection, Belgium (Miniature slightly warped) The wife of Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, is depicted here wearing the drooping ribbons that were so fashionable in the two or three years following her marriage to the Crown Prince. Their union, celebrated in 1837 at the Château de Fontainebleau, was a happy but short-lived one, due to the dramatic death of the 'perfect prince' in 1842. The marvellous frame with the model's figure is signed by Alphonse Giroux, the official supplier to the royal family who contributed so much to the development of a certain everyday luxury for the rising class of the bourgeoisie under the July Monarchy. François MEURET (Nantes, 1800 - Beaumont-le-Roger, 1887) 9.3 x 7.2 cm The wife of Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, is depicted here wearing the drooping ribbons that were so fashionable in the two or three years following her marriage to the Crown Prince. Their union, celebrated in 1837 at the Château de Fontainebleau, was a happy but short-lived one, due to the dramatic death of the 'perfect prince' in 1842. The marvellous frame with the model's figure is signed by Alphonse Giroux, the official supplier to the royal family who contributed so much to the development of a certain everyday luxury for the rising class of the bourgeoisie under the July Monarchy.