Queen Victoria, like many other English monarchs, was a great connoisseur of art. Her collection contained paintings by Titian, Raphael, Rubens, which hung on the walls in Buckingham Palace. She donated some of her works to the Royal Collection, founded 500 years ago. Victoria herself loved to draw, some of the works were warmly received by art critics of that time.
The Queen has been painting watercolor portraits and landscapes since the age of eight. She did not receive a special education, she only took lessons from the artist Richard Westall. She often made sketches of family members and pets. The hobby remained for life: Victoria devoted her free time to drawing in residences where she went to rest. In the sketch below, you can see the children of the queen, who participated in the production of the tragedy "Athalie" by Racine, prepared by a French governess.
While the Queen's watercolor work is not as technically advanced as professional artists' paintings, it has its own charm and sincerity. In total, more than 50 sketchbooks have survived, almost all of them are in the Royal Collection.
